The New Global Trade Order: Anthony Gardner

Anthony Gardner, who left his post as US Ambassador to the EU in January following President Trump’s inauguration, will brief Asia House corporate members on the future of UK-US trade relations.

The former Ambassador has already warned that any trade deal for the UK following its exit from the European Union will take years to complete. This is despite the upbeat comments from the UK Government and from President Trump himself, who has promised that the UK will be at the front of the queue for a bilateral trade agreement.

The briefing by Anthony Gardner is the first in a series of events at Asia House which will examine the new global trade order. The election of President Trump, Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, and growing protectionist policies have rattled the world’s trading structures. A new global trading architecture is evolving. The Asia House programme will assemble decision-makers and influencers to brief corporate members as this new architecture takes shape.

Parliament Magazine reported this week that Gardner believes the EU is “too often the whipping boy” for Europe’s problems. He’s argued that Trump has applied a “cartoon style caricature” to the workings of the EU, stating that, “Instead, [Trump] would be better to listen to his cabinet members who have been saying the total opposite.”

Gardner, a former private equity executive, was sworn in as the US Ambassador to the European Union in 2014. During his three-year stint, he was involved in the EU-US talks for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

He has already raised questions about the likelihood of a rapid bilateral trade deal between the UK and the US. Gardner will discuss the impact of an incoming Trump administration on global trade as well the future for UK-US and EU-US relations at the Asia House briefing.

Gardner has dedicated more than twenty years of his career to US-European affairs, as a government official, lawyer and investor. He also participated in the launch of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue, an advisory group bringing together executives from leading American and European companies to advocate for a barrier-free transatlantic market.

Please note, the date of the briefing has changed to Tuesday 21 February.

This briefing is for Asia House corporate members only. To register, please contact Conor Paterson in the Business & Policy Team at conor.paterson@asiahouse.co.uk or call 0207 307 5439.