The U.S.-U.K. Trade Fail – WSJ

That gloomy assessment was borne out by Prime Minister Truss’s first meeting with President

Joe Biden

on Wednesday, who was also in New York for the United Nation’s General Assembly. The two talked about their mutual support for Ukraine, the challenges of China and Iran, and assorted other issues. No mention at all of what post-Brexit Britain could really use: a free trade deal with the U.S.

This is a huge lost opportunity for both countries. The U.K. is already the fifth largest market for American goods, and 8th largest source of U.S. goods imports, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. While the

European Union

collectively is the U.K.’s largest trading partner, Britain trades more with the U.S. than any single nation.

Ms. Truss has inherited a dismal status quo created by leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. Though the Trump Administration started work on a deal, it never got far, and President Biden seems too afraid of the politics of trade.

Ms. Truss’s predecessor,

Boris Johnson,

talked a good game on trade but refused to budge on such issues as the British ban on chlorine-washed chickens. This is a relatively small matter in value but is emotive in British politics. Financial regulations are another obstacle, but two countries that were serious about getting to a deal would find a way to overcome these issues in the national economic interest.

Ms. Truss will now have to focus on her daring domestic reform agenda, but it’s too bad Mr. Biden let growth in trade slip away.