Ahead of the conclusion of US-UK trade negotiations next week, William Perrin considers the potential significance of a report from the US Trade Representative commissioned by the White House in February , also due next week. (This commentary was originally published on LinkedIn).

Significant to the UK/USA trade deal will be a 1 April report from the US Trade Representative who was asked - in a not-at-all-paranoically entitled White House Memorandum, “Defending American Companies and Innovators From Overseas Extortion and Unfair Fines and Penalties”, on 21 February - to:

“investigate whether any act, policy, or practice of any country in the European Union or the United Kingdom has the effect of requiring or incentivizing the use or development of United States companies’ products or services in ways that undermine freedom of speech and political engagement or otherwise moderate content, and recommend appropriate actions to counter such practices under applicable authorities.”

The UK government has said that the Online Safety Act is not on the table in these talks (and indeed the PM has been watching Netflix’s Adolescence with his family)

However the tone of the 21 Feb memorandum and of VP Vance’s speeches seems that our counterparty might want it to be. The UK/USA talks are behind a veil but the timing of the 1 April report could be awkward for anything already settled (such as in recent PM/POTUS talks) if it gets reopened by the USTR report. We can rely on the PM as a human rights lawyer not to get suckered into arguments about the First Amendment free speech v the European convention (would love to see the minutes of THAT hotline call). More broadly though in negotiating with autocrats, the English especially should remember Danegeld - early payments don’t keep them away.

‘In 994 the Danes, under King Sweyn Forkbeard and Olav Tryggvason, returned and laid siege to London. They were once more bought off, and the amount of silver paid impressed the Danes with the idea that it was more profitable to extort payments from the English than to take whatever booty they could plunder.’ (Wikipedia)