Ron DeSantis revives UK-US trade hopes after Biden snub

US-UK trade deal progress discussed by Badenoch

Ron DeSantis raised hopes of a trade boost between the UK and Britain during his visit to London this week. The Governor of Florida’s visit to the UK received wide coverage, as did his meeting with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch.

Speaking to the Telegraph today, he raised the prospect of better trade between our two countries.

According to recent reports, President Joe Biden’s reluctance to improve free trade between the UK and US means it’s unlikely we’ll see a free trade deal will begin until at least 2025.

In the meantime, however, Britain has been securing deals with individual states, including North and South Carolina, Indiana and Oklahoma, which have GDPs equivalent to Sweden, Iraq, South Africa and Greece respectively.

Now it sounds like a deal with Florida could be on the cards, a state whose GDP is similar to that of Mexico’s, having come up in conversations in London this week.

Mr Desantis said that: “In America the days of these massive trade deals with all these different countries, those days are probably over”.

However he said there could be an alternative: “The trading is going to be based on bilateral agreements”.

“There is a much better chance that there could be something that is mutually beneficial between the UK and the US, rather than doing something with the entire EU or the entire Pacific. It is possible. I would have to see the details.”

He raised a further possibility of improved trade via a new concept called “friendshoring”, whereby countries promote manufacturing in, and sourcing from, their geopolitical allies, while simultaneously stymieing trade with enemies such as China and Russia.

He said: “At the end of the day, our primary trade policy needs to correct the excesses of what’s gone on with China the last 20-25 years. We need to reshore more critical manufacturing and industrial base.

“This is where the UK could also come in.

“Part of that may be friendshoring where there may be allied countries that have the ability to do some of these things. If you are getting it out of China, which really has a lot of leverage over us economically, that could be a good thing.

“I can see a lot of that through the lens of how we are bolstering our security and supply chain vis a vis the Chinese Communist Party.”

During his four-country tour to shore up his foreign policy credentials ahead of an expected run for the Republic Party’s presidential nomination, Mr DeSantis pledged to improve trade and co-operation with Britain.

After his meeting with Kemi Badenoch, Mr DeSantis described her as “dynamic”, and “a strong, outspoken leader in the United Kingdom”.

“We share the same goal of spurring economic growth for our people and I look forward to continuing our relationship.”

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He also praised Ms Badenoch’s battle against wokism, which he enthusiastically supports.

“She complimented what we are doing in Florida. She committed that it is what they are trying to do in Britain.

“She pointed out, and I think it’s true, that some of the woke has been exported from the United States.”

“I commend her and her efforts to make sure that this is not corrupting British society.”

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