US companies spell out wish lists for post-Brexit trade deal

US business groups are lobbying Washington to make the UK adopt American standards after it quits the European Union.

The Trump administration has said it will negotiate a new trade deal with the UK once it leaves the EU at the end of March, and last October the Office of the US Trade Representative invited companies to comment on their negotiating objectives ahead of the talks starting.

Various groups have said they want to be able to sell hormone-fed beef, currently banned in the UK and EU, and are arguing for changes to the way the NHS approves drugs, to allow the health service to buy a wider range of American treatments.

Technology companies have voiced concern about a proposed UK tax of digital services, while those in the agricultural sector see lower tariffs and a shift away from the EU’s strict laws governing genetically modified crops and pesticides, while

According to the BBC, the Animal Health Institute – which produces animal antibiotics – said in a written submission: “We have noted with concern statements by certain UK officials indicating a desire to exclude the agricultural sector from the negotiation and an intention of maintaining regulatory harmonization with the European Union.

“Should the UK adopt such policies, we see little basis for the negotiation of a bilateral trade agreement.”

The National Grain and Feed Association said that it was a “once in a lifetime opportunity” that could “act as a bastion against the EU’s precautionary advances and its ongoing aggressive attempts to spread its influence around the globe”.

The wish lists will be discussed at a public hearing in Washington on Tuesday, which the US Trade Representative said would focus on “a proposed US-UK trade agreement, including US interests and priorities in order to develop US negotiating positions”.