London:
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, has discussed “progress” in a commercial agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States in a phone call with President Donald Trump, Downing Street said Monday.
Late Sunday, the two leaders had a “brief discussion to update on the progress made … in relation to the economic prosperity agreement,” said a spokesman.
It is produced in the midst of the United Kingdom media reports that the Government is considering discarding a tax on technological giants at the attempt to avoid American tariffs under Trump.
Prime Minister’s spokesman did not say if the digital services tax arose during the call, but said that the United Kingdom would only reach a “national interest” agreement.
“We will continue to ensure that companies pay their fair tax part, including companies in the digital sector,” added the spokesman.
The United States is the largest commercial partner in the United Kingdom. The two countries have invested more than 1.2 billion ($ 1.6 billion) in the economies of the other.
Great Britain hoped to sign a free trade agreement with the United States when leaving the European Union in 2020, but the conversations broke quickly.
It is now believed that officials are discussing a much smaller agreement, possibly adapted to specific industries such as artificial technology and intelligence.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a union feed).
