The U.S. is the U.K.’s second-largest trading partner outside of the EU, importing approximately 20 percent of all Britain’s goods and services. The countries also currently share a number of agreements on economics, security and trade, which could be at risk as of March 2019, when the U.K. is expected to formally exit the EU.
Maintaining this special relationship with the U.K. is increasingly important given the new administration’s protectionist ‘America First’ stance and preference for bilateral trade deals rather that multilateral deals, which are seen to disadvantage the U.S. Likewise, the U.K. will be eager to secure new trading relationships outside of those brokered by the EU. However, the U.S. has been critical of other countries’ trade surpluses with the U.S. and the U.K., whose trade surplus is an estimated £40 billion, will be starting its dialogue from a tricky position.
Without a deal, the two countries will have to revert to World Trade Organization rules, with tariffs applied universally to countries without deals, ranging from 32 percent on wine to 9.8 percent on cars.
