LONDON // Trade will dominate talks between the new leaders of the United States and Britain this weekend, with both hoping commitments to a future deal will redefine their “special relationship” in a new world order.
For British prime minister Theresa May – who becomes the first foreign leader to meet US president Donald Trump on Friday – even a simple promise to deepen trade ties could strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union.
Mr Trump might use the meeting to go some way to winning concessions from Britain and bolster his vision of the United States exporting its way to prosperity.
But for both leaders, the road to any firm trade deal is littered with pitfalls and could end straining the historically close relations between the countries, ties that have been driven almost as much by the personalities of their leaders as national interests.
Differences over genetically modified food, on meat production and public-sector procurement, and fears in Britain that US companies might want to buy into its prized public health service could all hamper any swift movement on a deal.
Plus, while Mr Trump has said a deal can be done “very quickly”, both he and Mrs May say they will put their respective countries’ interests first.
Mrs May will meet Mr Trump in Washington after stopping off in Philadelphia to meet senior Republican leaders from congress at a retreat the day before.
“So as we rediscover our confidence together – as you renew your nation just as we renew ours – we have the opportunity, indeed the responsibility, to renew the special relationship for this new age,” Mrs May said in Philadelphia.
“We have the opportunity to lead, together, again.”
The prime minister will underline areas where she says cooperation is vital, in defence and security – both bilaterally and through Nato, and on Syria.
But it is trade where she hopes to “establish the basis for a strong and productive working relationship”.
It is not clear whether Friday’s meeting with Mr Trump will yield a clear shape for future ties. A British government source signalled that Mrs May’s team was taking a cautious approach, first wanting to get to know Trump’s negotiators and find out what a “quick” trade deal looked like.
The prime minister will be keen to press her Brexit message that she wants to build a “truly global Britain”. But with the EU clear that Britain must not sign trade deals with other countries until it has left and British concerned over Mr Trump’s shift towards protectionism, Mrs May will probably be reluctant about making any binding commitments.
Mr Trump has played up traditionally close ties with Britain, distancing himself from his predecessor Barack Obama, who said the country would be at “the back of the queue” for a trade deal with the US if it left the EU.
And London has made a strong play to court Mr Trump after an initial diplomatic glitch when, soon after his US election victory, he irritated UK officials by meeting British anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage, a critic of Mrs May, and saying he would be a good choice for Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
Following a secret trip by Mrs May’s two most senior aides to the United States in December, British foreign minister Boris Johnson met Mr Trump’s close advisers this month and told parliament he had found a “huge fund of goodwill” for Britain.
But experts and former officials suggest that goodwill may run out fast, not only on trade, but over other areas where Mr Trump and Mrs May have potential to disagree, such as climate change, the Nato military alliance and the Iranian nuclear deal.
Mr Trump formally withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal this week and is also working to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to provide more favourable terms.
Mrs May says she will take Britain out of the EU’s single market, instead focusing on winning a free trade deal with the bloc and agreements with other countries.
By making clear she will cut ties with the EU unless she wins a good deal, some experts say she has handed the United States and other countries the upper hand in any future talks.
After a US-EU trade deal, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), ground to a halt last year, Washington might press for Britain to drop its resistance to US genetically modified foods and to smooth over regulatory differences for product safety, food and pharmaceuticals.
British opposition MPs have already challenged Mrs May on whether she will lower health and safety standards to allow imports of US products such as beef that contains growth hormones and chicken washed in chlorinated water.
* Reuters
Vidaamuyarchi
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Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
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Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Guide to intelligent investing
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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The Sand Castle
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