Fighting to demand U.S.-UK talks prioritize working families, public health and the environment over corporate profits

Starting in July 2017, the Trump administration began paving the way for a U.S.-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be enacted quickly upon the UK’s exit from the European Union at the end of 2019. While the UK was still officially an EU member, formal trade negotiations were not allowed. But in October 2018, the U.S. administration gave formal notice to Congress that negotiations would start in 90 days and secretive initial talks started. Formal negotiations were to be launched on March 24, 2020 but were postponed after COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions and social distancing began. Corporate lobbyists have already been pushing an agenda of financial deregulation, privatization of public services, and a race to the bottom in consumer, health and safety standards. Many of these interests published their goals in formal comments filed with the U.S. government.