Keen to emphasize the upsides of life outside the European Union, the U.K. government hopes to position the country as a beacon for technology and innovation, with May telling the world\u2019s top business executives<\/a> at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month that \u201cBritain will be one of the best places in the world in which to start and grow a business.\u201d<\/p>\n But, say Washington insiders, a lack of detail about what kind of country the U.K. wants to be once it leaves the EU and a wave of rhetoric expressing concern about the impact of social media platforms on society have combined to undermine their case.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of us wonder what the real outcome will look like and can\u2019t find anyone in London who really knows\u201d \u2014 Julianne Smith, former senior adviser to Joe Biden<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The British embassy has been in \u201coverdrive\u201d for months, said Julianne Smith, head of the transatlantic unit at the Center for New American Security, and once deputy national security adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n \u201cFolks on both sides of the Atlantic have found those messages to be only moderately reassuring,\u201d she added. \u201cMost of us wonder what the real outcome will look like and can\u2019t find anyone in London who really knows.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s delegation from the U.K. parliament investigating \u201cfake news\u201d did little to help advance the Brits\u2019 case. Despite being an independent cross-party group not directly connected to the U.K. government, its inquiry was widely reported in the American press.<\/p>\n \u201cIf [the British] goal is to get [tech] investment, marching to Washington and saying they are going to investigate the big tech companies in the U.S. is probably not a recipe for success,\u201d said a Washington consultant, who works closely with the technology industry.<\/p>\n Another senior figure from a large technology company noted that perceived Tory leadership hopefuls, including Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Security Minister Ben Wallace and chair of the parliament\u2019s digital committee Damian Collins have all written publicly about tech.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t get a bad headline [in the British press] by attacking tech,\u201d the figure said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are on the dinner party circuit in Washington or San Francisco the rhetoric is not that these [Brits] are great people to do business with. The reaction is eye-rolling. People have not been going around town announcing investments,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n While it remains a member of the EU\u2019s customs union, the U.K. government is unable to negotiate trade deals with other countries.<\/p>\n Although President Donald Trump has made encouraging noises about a trade deal, renewing his support for a tie-up when he met May in Davos last month, there is little sense of urgency in Washington, which is still waiting to see what the U.K. prime minister negotiates.<\/p>\n So-called scoping groups have been set up and are meeting quarterly to discuss the issue, but formal negotiations cannot begin until the U.K. has left the European Union, which won\u2019t happen for another 14 months at the earliest.<\/p>\n Donald Trump has made encouraging noises about a trade deal with the U.K. but there is little sense of urgency in Washington | Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Nile Gardiner, director of the pro-Brexit Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation think tank, thinks the Trump administration is \u201cfully invested\u201d in a deal, but warned Britain had to be 100 percent clear about exiting the customs union.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to move forward on it, the Americans have to be absolutely sure Britain is in a position to negotiate and implement the deal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n George Holding, a North Carolina Republican congressman who chairs the Britain American Parliamentary Group and is in regular contact with Trade Secretary Liam Fox, is positive about the British case.<\/p>\n He said the U.K. tech industry was \u201cjust as vibrant\u201d as its counterpart across the Atlantic and sees opportunities for tech in a trade agreement in services which could make the two countries \u201csimpatico.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIf we are, then everyone else has to acquiesce to our standards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n However, Holding stressed any future relationship would be complicated if the U.K. does not make a clean break from the European Union.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the United Kingdom went with an EU standard \u2014 whether it is the tech industry, financial services \u2014 and did so in a way that makes it more difficult to do something with the United States, I think that is a missed opportunity for the United States and the United Kingdom,\u201d Holding said.<\/p>\n U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer | Eitan Abramovich\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n The U.K. Department for International Trade directed POLITICO to a joint statement<\/a> released in November after the U.S.-U.K. trade working group met in London.<\/p>\n U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in the statement: \u201cThe work has deepened our understanding of our respective trade and investment systems to prepare for our future relationship once the UK has left the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of Trump\u2019s warm words, Brits are struggling to make themselves heard.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite their efforts it is impossible for the British Embassy to get traction or much media coverage in the reality show relentless pace of this [Trump] administration,\u201d according to the Washington consultant who asked not to be named.<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s pitch also comes at a time when the White House has a protectionist incumbent in Trump who is attempting to return U.S. investment to his shores.<\/p>\n Apple, the world\u2019s most valuable company, announced last month it would spend $350 billion on development and create 20,000 jobs in the U.S. in the next five years, after a new U.S. tax law was passed late last year giving it a one-time tax break for bringing back cash.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy in God\u2019s name are we doing [Brexit]?\u201d \u2014 The farming lobby, according to SNP MP Angus MacNeil<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cTrump has corralled all of these companies, including tech companies, to bring all their money back and invest here. [The U.K. pitch for tech investment] is the opposite of what not just the White House wants, but also the political and business climate. That is why it is non-starter,\u201d the Washington consultant said.<\/p>\n Chris Leslie, a British Labour MP and member of the U.K. parliament\u2019s international trade committee, which also visited Washington last week, said while there had been a \u201ccordial desire to improve the \u2018special relationship\u2019 and politically a clear imperative to work towards a U.K.-U.S. trade deal,\u201d it was clear to the committee that America\u2019s trading relationship with its neighbors was a far higher priority.<\/p>\n Angus MacNeil, a Scottish National Party MP who chairs the trade committee, said the farming lobby had asked the British lawmakers: \u201cWhy in God\u2019s name are we doing [Brexit]?\u201d<\/p>\n He added that one car industry figure had told him while a trade deal would be \u201cvery nice,\u201d ongoing regulatory alignment with the EU was far more important.<\/p>\n \u201cFor them a U.S.-U.K. [deal] would be an incremental thing, but the U.K.-EU relationship is existential,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Original Article<\/a><\/p>\n [contf] [contfnew] WASHINGTON \u2014 If the U.K. wants to woo America with tech, it needs to get its story straight.<\/p>\n Home S..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[202],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
All eyes on Brussels<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nMake America great<\/h3>\n
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