UK reveals US trade deal would boost GDP by 0.16% in best case

The UK outlined negotiating objectives for trade talks with the US on Monday as its own analysis revealed the economy would grow at best by 0.16% more than a decade after any deal was implemented.

Despite the disparate sizes of the two economies, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he planned to “drive a hard bargain” in the discussions and pledged to protect the National Health Service and maintain standards on food hygiene, .

The government said it wanted to open up opportunities for British businesses and investors while also ensuring the NHS was not for sale to private US healthcare companies.

Johnson said he “committed to the guiding principles of the NHS – that it is universal and free at the point of use”, in an attempt to dispel fears the Conservatives would use any deal to allow privatisation of the healthcare system.

There have also been concerns about lowering food and animal welfare standards in Britain's desperation to secure a significant post-Brexit trade agreement.

However, in a technical paper accompanying the announcement, the Department for International Trade admitted that the benefit to the British economy of any deal would be 0.16%, or £3.4bn, at best 15 years from the date of an agreement being signed, assuming full tariff liberalisation and a 50% reduction in non-tariff measures.

A more limited scenario of "substantial" tariff liberalisation and a 25% reduction in non-tariff measures would boost GDP by only 0.07%, or £1.4bn, over the same period, the analysis stated.

The US talks will take place alongside separate negotiations with the European Union on a trade deal now that Britain has officially left the bloc.

Johnson said the UK would “ensure high standards and protections for British consumers and workers, and build on our existing international obligations” in its talks with Washington.

“This will include upholding the UK’s high domestic standards on food safety and animal welfare,” he said.

The prime minister has been under pressure to rule out any deal that would see UK store shelves stocked with imports of US chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef.

In Brussels, the first set of talks between two armies of negotiators were set to begin on Monday against a backdrop of heavy rhetoric from London around its demands to do a deal by the end of the year.

A major flashpoint is expected to be around commercial fishing. Symbolically important to the UK as an island nation, the issue is scheduled to be resolved by July. However, Denmark, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Ireland are all demanding that they retain access to British waters.