Joe Biden has quietly shelved plans for better trade terms with the UK ahead of the presidential election.
Britain had already abandoned hopes of a full post-Brexit deal after the Democrat ruled out agreements with any country soon after taking power.
But insiders said hopes of a “foundational” pact that would form the building blocks of closer ties has been quietly dropped.
Sources briefed by both governments expressed scepticism about the revival of the negotiations, telling Politico: “I don’t think we’re going to see that re-emerge.”
But a Whitehall source played down concerns, insisting the plan was “just a working document” and “never got above official level”.
Since leaving the EU in 2020, the government has been hopeful of much closer business dealing with the States after being freed from Brussels red tape.
But the US president put plans on ice following Senate opposition and disagreements over how big such a deal should be.
Earlier this year, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said there was “zero chance” of a deal under Mr Biden as his administration has “very close links with unions”, which are against free trade agreements.
Instead, a less ambitious pact was being worked on with 11 proposed chapters, presented by the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) office earlier this year.
Negotiations were expected before the end of 2023.
The proposed timeline for the talks, excluding market access considerations and not aligning with the World Trade Organisation’s definition of a free trade agreement, aimed to end negotiations before the upcoming elections in both countries next year.
In terms of content, the agreement shared more similarities with the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) than a comprehensive trade agreement.
It focused on addressing regulatory issues and non-tariff barriers.
However, the IPEF negotiations collapsed recently when senior Democrats criticised the Biden administration for not including enforceable labour standards in the trade provisions.
Ms Badenoch pushed for an IPEF-style deal in April during President Biden’s visit to Belfast, aiming to revitalise talks initially initiated under the Trump administration.
However, many in the US have expressed concern about the nature of a pact with the UK.
“Trade negotiations should be driven by substance,” said a spokesperson for Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
“It is Senator Wyden’s view that the United States and the United Kingdom should not make announcements until a deal that benefits Americans is achievable,” they added.
A UK government spokesman said: “The UK and US are rapidly expanding co-operation on a range of vital economic and trade issues building on the Atlantic Declaration announced earlier this year.”
