Tomas Baert, head of trade and agriculture at the European delegation in Washington, said the European Union is looking for a “strong and united front with the United States” on trade as the region and the world recover from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Baert, who was speaking on a webinar Dec. 15 hosted by the European American Chamber of Commerce, said that while the Trump era was marked with “turbulence and tension” in trade, Europe feels like it escaped mostly unharmed, since there were not “massive tariffs” imposed on exported cars, trucks and auto parts, as was threatened.

The U.S. and the United Kingdom signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement meant to “further enhance bilateral efforts to secure and facilitate lawful trade,” CBP said in a Dec. 16 news release. “This new agreement will further enhance the U.S.-UK partnership by improving information sharing, strengthening the enforcement of our customs laws, and bolstering supply chain security while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade,” acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said.

A new report summarizing town halls convened by Farmers for Free Trade says the elimination of the steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico “went a long way toward stabilizing these export markets,” and that grain prices have recovered, but that more free trade deals are critical to support farmers and rural economies. The report, released Dec. 15, was highlighted in a webinar.

President-elect Joe Biden announced Dec. 10 that he's selecting House Ways and Means Committee Chief Trade Counsel Katherine Tai to be the next U.S. trade representative, saying that her deep experience will allow the administration to “harness the power of our trading relationships to help the U.S. dig out of the COVID-induced economic crisis and pursue the President-elect’s vision of a pro-American worker trade strategy.”

The United Kingdom signed a continuity trade agreement with Singapore and plans to sign another with Vietnam to continue trading with both countries once the U.K. leaves the European Union at month's end, a Dec. 10 news release said. The U.K. said the deals will “deepen” its trading relationships in the Indo-Pacific and bring it a “step closer” to joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership. U.K. Trade Secretary Liz Truss called the deals “vital for the U.K.’s future as an independent trading nation” and said they “lock in billions of pounds worth of trade.”

The United Kingdom and Egypt signed an agreement to strengthen trade ties between the two countries and continue preferential trade access after the U.K. leaves the European Union at month's end, the U.K. said Dec. 5. The deal will provide tariff-free trade on industrial goods and liberalize trade in agriculture and fisheries, which will “make trade easier and deliver significant savings to businesses in both the UK and Egypt,” the U.K. said. “This agreement is a clear signal of the U.K.’s enduring commitment to our close bilateral relationship with Egypt and will help strengthen trade and investment ties in the future,” U.K. Trade Secretary Liz Truss said.

Former House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, and a former Democratic congressman both say that trying to return to the Trans-Pacific Partnership can't happen in the medium term. Boehner and former Rep. Joe Crowley of New York were speaking on a Meridian International Center online program Dec. 4. Boehner said that “without Trade Promotion Authority, the administration's hands will be tied” on joining the TPP. He said it would be “a pretty tall ask” to get TPA renewed in 2021. “I think there will be engagement” on trade with Asian countries other than China, he said, adding: “I think it will be pretty small.” Crowley agreed, saying that although the incoming Joe Biden administration seems inclined to multilateral trade approaches, “TPP, it's a big, big, big step. I don't see that happening in the first two years.”

President-elect Joe Biden won't remove Section 301 tariffs until he makes a full review of the phase 1 agreement and consults with Japan, South Korea and Europe “so we can develop a coherent strategy,” New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman reported Dec. 2. Biden said free-market countries need more leverage to “actually produce progress on China’s abusive practices,” such as illegal subsidies to corporations, forced tech transfers and stealing intellectual property.

The United Kingdom updated a range of guidance documents relating to its trade agreement with Japan. The U.K. released Nov. 30 new information on how trade with Japan will change starting Jan. 1, 2021, provisions for small and medium-sized business, changes to product-specific rules and details on the tariff rate quota scheme.

The United Kingdom and Malaysia held the first meeting of their joint trade and investment committee Nov. 24. The committee, aiming to boost trade ties that will enhance future cooperation and investment, commissioned six working groups to work on easing market access between the two countries, particularly around wine and spirits. Natalie Black, the U.K.’s trade commissioner for the Asia Pacific, said the relationship has “the potential for significant further growth.”