Since 2018, the United States has long been negotiating separate free trade agreements (FTAs) with Japan, the European Union (EU), and the U.K. This post relates the current status of these negotiations.

U.S.-Japan FTA

In 2019, the United States and Japan concluded two trade agreements pertaining to agricultural products and digital trade. Before starting these negotiations, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) specifically identified addressing nontariff barriers to imports of U.S. automobiles as a negotiating objective. Yet, automobiles and automobile parts were not included in the 2019 trade talks. In June 2020, USTR Robert Lighthizer said that trade talks with Japan had been delayed due to the pandemic, but that they would likely resume in a few months. The two sides intend to continue negotiating customs duties, barriers to trade in services and investment, and other trade restrictions. As of today, no formal negotiation has resumed.

U.S.-EU FTA

In 2020, trade talks between the United States and the EU stalled due to escalating trade tensions caused by Trump’s pressure to cooperate with U.S. economic and trade sanctions on Iran and other countries and new U.S. barriers against EU metal imports. Some progress was made in August when the two sides reached an agreement to end EU tariffs on U.S. live and frozen lobster products. In exchange, the United States agreed to reduce tariffs on $160 million worth of EU goods. However, reaching a comprehensive US-EU free trade agreement is still unlikely in the near future. In June 2020, Ambassador Lighthizer commented that a trade deal with the EU is “not looking good in the short term,” citing the EU’s agriculture policy as a key sticking point. Before restarting trade talks with the United States in 2019, the EU Council had also made it clear that trade negotiations cannot be concluded as long as the tariffs on EU steel and aluminum exports remain in place.

U.S.-U.K. FTA

Formal trade negotiations between the United States and United Kingdom started on May 5, 2020. The fourth round of trade talks were concluded in September, and the fifth round is expected to take place in mid- to late October. During the fourth round of trade talks, both sides exchanged their first tariff offers, discussed details regarding market access, and continued to have detailed textual discussions. Specific subjects covered in this round of trade talks include sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs and trade facilitation, competition law, technical barriers to trade, market access, financial services, good regulatory practices, rules of origin, investment, economics, cross border trade in services, industrial subsidies, trade remedies, and state-owned enterprises. Currently, the two sides are reconciling texts in the majority of the chapter areas. Discussions between major rounds of negotiation were schedule on telecommunications, intellectual property, market access, and rule of origin. The U.K. Secretary for International Trade Elizabeth Truss revealed that the UK would like to reach a trade agreement with the US by mid-2021.