US-UK deal must consider workers

The TUC and its US equivalent, the AFL-CIO, have joined forces to warn the White House and Downing Street that any trade deal must put workers’ jobs and rights first.


The union federations, which together represent over 18 million workers, agree the UK’s priority should be negotiating a good trade deal with the EU.


In a joint statement, they said the EU deal should establish a level playing field on workers’ rights, protect jobs by preserving frictionless trade in goods and services, protect public services and ensure there’s no hard border in Northern Ireland.


The TUC has warned the government that, because US and EU standards diverge so dramatically, a trade deal that locks the UK into US-style regulations could prevent the government from negotiating the strongest possible relationship with the EU.


The statement also outlines a series of key requirements for any UK-US deal, including enforceable commitments to protect workers’ rights; exclusion of all public services, including the NHS, transport and education; and exclusion of all kinds of special courts which allow foreign investors to sue governments for actions that threaten their profits. 


The statement also wants a commitment from both governments to support the Paris Agreement on climate change.