Trade negotiators of the United Kingdom revealed that they had made provisions for blockchain businesses in their upcoming trade talks with the United States.
UK-US Negotiations to Include Blockchain Businesses
The UK’s trade negotiators are looking to influence global blockchain regulation in the upcoming free trade talks with the United States. This is according to the negotiating objectives published by the U.K.’s Department for International Trade (DIT).
According to the DIT, the plan is straightforward, and the opportunity is clear for all to see. The 184-page report, released earlier this month, discusses the UK’s post-Brexit trade talks. According to the negotiators, they aim to deliver favorable digital trade terms for small and medium-sized businesses, including those in the blockchain industry.
The document points out that the UK has the opportunity to help shape global regulations in areas like data flow, blockchain, quantum technology and driverless cars, and they hope to achieve this via ambitious digital trade provisions.
However, the paper does not provide further details on how it intends to affect the global regulation of the blockchain sector. The DIT also didn’t give any details on its negotiating stance, ahead of the trade talks with the United States. These trade talks are crucial as the US, and the UK already have close trading ties.
A deal between these two countries would be beneficial to the blockchain industry, according to Peter Hunn, the chief executive of Clause, a smart contracts API company. He stated that there is a lot to do in order to provide standardized interfaces with the help of smart contracts and DLT (decentralized ledger technology). He also stated that this would play a big role in reducing or even eliminating extensive admin as well as compliance and financial burdens.
The DIT Pushes Digital Trading Partnership
The DIT has identified digital trading as a strong point and intends to strike an excellent digital trading partnership within its coming framework. They committed an entire chapter of the negotiation to digital trade, which includes data protection, open internet, and cross-border data flows, and more.
In a press release accompanying the publishing of the negotiating report, the UK aims to future-proof the agreement as they anticipate fast-paced technological developments. The UK is anticipating that there will be rapid technological developments over the coming years. Hence, it is planning to become a major player in the digital trading section, and by working with the US to regulate the industry, it will likely achieve this.
As the cryptocurrency sector progresses, the UK is calling for closer cross-border crypto partnerships. The report highlighted the various requests issued to the DIT, with organizations and prominent figures lobbying for closer fintech ties.
Blockchain is gaining adoption in various sectors of our global economy. It is already in use in industries such as finance, supply chain and logistics, and others. An increasing number of countries are now working to regulate the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector in an attempt to attract local and foreign investments into their regions. With the UK leaving the European Union, it is not surprising that it is strengthening its ties with the US and other global superpowers.