Brown seeks to ease transatlantic tension

Published on Tuesday 18 November 2003 00:00

CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown was today expected to call for smoother trading conditions between the United States and the European Union in the wake of recent rows over steel exports and the prospect of a tit-for-tat trade war between the regions.

In a keynote speech to the annual CBI conference in Birmingham, Mr Brown was set to promise business leaders an unchanging diet of stability within the UK, while at the same time arguing developing a closer trading relationship with the US was vital if the EU as a whole was to enjoy a bright economic future.

Mr Brown was due to deliver his comments just hours ahead of US President George W Bush’s arrival in London at the start of his controversial state visit to Britain.

In a practical step to try to take some of the tension out of the transatlantic trade situation, Mr Brown and US Treasury Secretary John Snow are to launch an independent study into how to "move beyond the old trade disputes and reap the benefits of greater trade and investment liberalisation".

They hope the review will provide persuasive evidence of the potential, multi-billion pound benefits of increased trade and higher employment from bringing down trade barriers and tariffs.

In addition, the British and American governments are setting up a joint business-government forum to discuss common productivity issues.

There will also be a scheme to allow young British entrepreneurs to spend time studying at business schools in the US.

The project has been dubbed Greenspan scholarships in honour of Alan Greenspan, chairman of the US Federal Reserve.

But the Chancellor was set to face competition as the star turn of the day from recently-installed Conservative leader Michael Howard, who was to use his speech to the conference to criticise Mr Brown for what he was describing as the "poisonous" impact of burdens placed on business by the Government.

Mr Howard, who was also due to warn that the proposed European Constitution could add to those burdens, has accused the Labour Government of introducing 60 tax rises and a welter of new regulations - an average of 15 new regulations every working day.

In a bid to allay business leaders’ concerns that Britain was becoming a less business-friendly environment, Mr Brown was expected to point out Britain’s economy had continued to grow in every quarter during all six years since Labour came to power in 1997. No doubt mindful of the continuing dispute between the EU and US over steel exports to America and the possibility of a trade war, Mr Brown was expected to highlight the "shared conviction" of the two regions - economic expansion through free trade and free markets as the key to growth and prosperity.