Experts tell subcommittee a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement is feasible and could set digital and regulatory standards
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Summary
A senior adviser from CSIS urged the committee to pursue a comprehensive U.S.–U.K. trade agreement to harmonize regulatory procedures, secure data-flow rules, and construct a trade remedy mechanism against non-market practices.
Meredith Broadbent, nonresident senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Scholl Chair in International Business, told the House Trade Subcommittee that the United States should prioritize a comprehensive trade and investment agreement with the United Kingdom to set global standards on regulation and digital trade.
Broadbent said the U.K.’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and post-Brexit regulatory autonomy create a rare window for negotiators to craft a high-standard deal. She recommended negotiators use USMCA provisions as a "road-tested" model and said negotiators should focus on regulatory cooperation (including mutual recognition where possible), digital trade rules for cross-border data flows, and a joint trade remedy mechanism to address non-market economy practices such as subsidized overcapacity.
"If the United States aspires to set standards for regulations that will be followed by other countries, a U.S.–U.K. trade agreement is the next and most logical step," Broadbent said, adding that legal and technical provisions on digital flows could be replicated globally. She also noted the chairman’s bill, H.R. 1743, as a vehicle that sets out negotiating goals and procedures for a U.K. deal.
Broadbent recommended negotiators pursue four core goals: build on USMCA provisions; promote innovative mechanisms to harmonize and improve regulatory procedures; reach agreement on rules for data flows and digital trade; and create fair and transparent trade-remedy processes. She said concluding such an agreement would help both countries address overcapacity and unfair subsidies from state-influenced economies.
Committee members responded with questions about agricultural market access and regulatory equivalence; Broadbent said the U.K. offers opportunities for U.S. agriculture and manufacturing if negotiators can bridge legacy EU rules and achieve mutual recognition where safety goals align.
The hearing record includes no formal votes; members said they would use testimony to help frame negotiating objectives for any U.S.–U.K. agreement.
