Good afternoon, everyone. First, let me welcome all of you to Baltimore, Maryland. When we were planning this event, we wanted to get outside of Washington, D.C. to show off a unique and innovative American city like Baltimore. I hope you enjoy your time here.
Second, I want to thank Secretary Trevelyan for joining this dialogue. We are excited to have you here and I am looking forward to a productive conversation over the next two days.
Earlier today, Secretary Trevelyan and I visited the Port of Baltimore, a 316-year old American institution. It first became a port of entry in 1706, and throughout the 18th century, it helped ship wheat, corn, and sugar to customers around the world. Today, the Port of Baltimore handles everything from cargo and construction equipment to cars and metal – including a significant amount of trade with the United Kingdom.
President Biden’s first international trip as President was to the United Kingdom for the G7 meeting in 2021, where he made it clear that America is at its best when we are working closely with our allies.
That is exactly what our two countries have accomplished together.
Shortly after President Biden’s trip, we resolved the 17-year-long large civil aircraft dispute involving Boeing and Airbus. This agreement is a model for ensuring fair competition and addressing challenges posed by non-market economies.
Our governments worked together to reach agreement on a global minimum tax deal, and in January of this year, we announced the start of bilateral discussions to address global steel and aluminum excess capacity, including the application of Section 232 tariffs.
And, over the last several weeks, our countries have worked closely together to punish and denounce President Putin for his premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified war in Ukraine. As President Biden said at the State of the Union earlier this month,
“We see the unity among leaders of nations and a more unified Europe a more unified West. And we see unity among the people who are gathering in cities in large crowds around the world even in Russia to demonstrate their support for Ukraine.”
“In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security.”
So, it has never been more important for us to work to strengthen our economic ties with our closest allies – like the United Kingdom.
In that spirit, today and tomorrow, Secretary Trevelyan and I, along with our respective staffs, will seek to identify concrete steps to advance the U.S.-UK trade relationship.
We will also meet with stakeholders and local leaders to discuss how our bilateral trade dynamic can better address 21st century challenges and facilitate collaboration on our shared priorities.
These meetings will cover a range of topics, including:
- Strengthening the protection of labor rights and the environment, with one another and our other trading partners;
- Ensuring our trade policies support our domestic investments and build stronger, more competitive workforces;
- Complementing our efforts to decarbonize our economies, increase the use of green technology, and promote environmentally sustainable trade practices;
- Promoting gender and racial equality by using global trade to lift up entrepreneurs and business owners; and
- Building strong, durable supply chains that can withstand future global shocks.
These priorities represent just some of our goals, but the ambition of our agenda is clear.
Over the next two days, we will identify mutual trade priorities and discuss how we can promote innovation and inclusive economic growth for citizens on both sides of the Atlantic.
During this plenary, we will hear from leaders like Marjorie Chorlins from the Chamber of Commerce and Cathy Feingold from the AFL-CIO on how trade should support workers and companies they represent.
We are starting this dialogue with an open mind, acknowledging that we may need to develop new tools and resources to tackle our shared challenges as they arise.
Working with Secretary Trevelyan and our UK allies, I am optimistic and excited about what lies ahead and how we can support the continued evolution of the U.S.-UK trade relationship for the 21st century.
With that, I am pleased to introduce the Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
###
