Talking Trade Ep. 78 - UK Consul General in Chicago Alan Gogbashian

Talking Trade

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” UK Consul General in Chicago, Alan Gogbashian, shares insights on the post-Brexit global trade landscape and other trends.

Trade between the United States and the UK is on the rise, he notes, as “the economic relationship is thriving” between the two nations.

“Sitting here in the Midwest, we obviously play a major part of that — this is an economic powerhouse region, it’s a hugely diversified economy,” he said.

Gogbashian weighs in on the ripple effects of the UK leaving the European Union, noting uncertainty following the move in early 2020 has largely died down. He argues companies “now have the certainty they need,” pointing to various frameworks for “creating certainty and clarity” around international business.

“Since leaving the European Union, the UK has been allowed to pursue its own international trade policy,” he said. “We couldn’t do that as a member of the [EU] … We can pursue our own trade objectives in the way that makes the most sense for UK interests, and the interests of the individual countries we have relationships with.”

The discussion also touches on the potential for a free trade agreement between the U.S. and the UK, for which negotiations began under the Trump administration but fizzled under President Joe Biden, Gogbashian said.

“We’ve had a fantastic economic dialogue with this administration, it just looks different to an FTA conversation,” he said. “In the future, if an FTA were to come back on the table, then we’d certainly be interested in pursuing that. But in the meantime, there’s so much opportunity for us to pursue at state level.”

Talking Trade is hosted by E.M Wasylik Associates Managing Director Ken Wasylik and M.E. Dey & Co. President and Managing Director Sandi Siegel.