History will be made on Feb. 1 as Britain officially leaves the European Union after a 3.5 year process.
Brexit brings the opportunity for trade negotiations between the United States and the United Kingdom. The UK must first iron out any trade details with the European Union before talks can commence with the United States.
Gregg Doud, the United States’ chief ag negotiator, says the U.S. is ready for talks to begin.
“In my mind that’s a legitimate top 10 market for U.S. agriculture,” he said. “So when the flag drops, we’ll be off and running with a discussion with the UK this year.”
Both Britain and the EU need to get a deal done by October so it can be translated into the 23 official languages of the union by the end of the year.
According to Politico, the timeline is ambitious unless the U.S. works for a partial deal, like it did with Japan and China.