mad cow disease
Food and Drug Administration rules which block the sale of Melton Mowbray pork pies
Limits on the number of ports which can accept deliveries of UK cauliflowers and a complete ban on UK
bell peppers
Requirements for British wines to be sold through US distributors and a ban on British micro-breweries
that does not apply to US beer-makers in the UK
The need for British insurance firms to deal with as many as 50 US regulators, compared with two in the
UK
Public procurement rules which mean that all branches of the US military are banned from purchasing
measuring tools like rulers from British stationery companies
“Of course, I think there is a massive opportunity for Britain but we must understand that it is not all going
to be plain sailing,” the prime minister told reporters in Biarritz.
“There remain very considerable barriers in the US to British businesses which are not widely understood.
“Last night, I had my first opportunity to mention some of these to the president. And I will mention them
again because it is very important if we are going to do a fantastic free trade deal that is a free trade that
works in the interests of British business.
Protesters in Biarritz (AFP/Getty)He highlighted the issue of “cabotage” rules, which prevent UK shipping companies from moving goods
between locations in the US, when their American counterparts face no such restriction in Britain.
And he said: “The point I am making is that there are massive opportunities for UK companies to open up,
to prise open the American market. We intend to seize those opportunities but they are going to require our
American friends to compromise and to open up their approach because currently there are too many
restrictions.
“It goes without saying that there are sectors of the UK economy, not least the NHS, which remain
completely off-limits as far as any trade deal with America goes. We will not allow the NHS to be on the
table at all.”
Rupa Huq MP, a leading supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, told The Independent: “In 2016,
Brexiters suggested that a US trade deal could be one of the big prizes of leaving the EU. But now we know
that not only will any deal with Trump’s America be much more complicated than they pretended, it could
also involve plenty of nasty surprises like lower food standards and opening up the NHS to private US
healthcare companies. That’s not what anyone voted for.