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UK Trade Minister Looks To Texas For 'Enormous Opportunities' Post-Brexit

duncan c/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Signs in London ahead of the first time the United Kingdom was supposed to leave the European Union in October. It didn't actually happen until Jan. 2020, and now the UK is looking to align with Texas as it builds new trade relationships.

From Texas Standard:

The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union could mean an opening for new business opportunities between Britain and Texas. For his first overseas trip since Brexit, UK Minister of International Trade, Conor Burns, visited the Lone Star State.

Burns says that’s because he sees “enormous opportunities” for doing business here.

After all, about $14 billion worth of goods are traded between Texas and the UK every year. Burns also cites the statistic that Texas would have the 10th-largest economy in the world if it were its own country. Texas also has the fastest-growing economy in the United States.

Burns says all of that makes it an appealing trading partner for Britain.

He says Texas would be one part of an array of post-Brexit trade agreements with countries and regions all over the world, including the European Union.

“The European Union is going to be an incredibly important trading partner for the United Kingdom going forward,” Burns says. “But, simultaneously, we are looking at negotiating free-trade agreements with the United States, with Australia, with New Zealand, with Japan and ultimately we’re looking at joining the [Trans-Pacific Partnership].”

Burns says coming to Texas first after Brexit was intentional.

“I want the people, the government of Texas, to see that as a declaration of intent of how important Her Majesty’s government sees the potential to grow the economic relationship with Texas.”

Written by Morgan Kuehler.

Rhonda joined KUT in late 2013 as producer for the station's new daily news program, Texas Standard. Rhonda will forever be known as the answer to the trivia question, “Who was the first full-time hire for The Texas Standard?” She’s an Iowa native who got her start in public radio at WFSU in Tallahassee, while getting her Master's Degree in Library Science at Florida State University. Prior to joining KUT and The Texas Standard, Rhonda was a producer for Wisconsin Public Radio.
David entered radio journalism thanks to a love of storytelling, an obsession with news, and a desire to keep his hair long and play in rock bands. An inveterate political junkie with a passion for pop culture and the romance of radio, David has reported from bases in Washington, London, Los Angeles, and Boston for Monitor Radio and for NPR, and has anchored in-depth public radio documentaries from India, Brazil, and points across the United States and Europe. He is, perhaps, known most widely for his work as host of public radio's Marketplace. Fulfilling a lifelong dream of moving to Texas full-time in 2005, Brown joined the staff of KUT, launching the award-winning cultural journalism unit "Texas Music Matters."
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