It may well be a cliché to talk about the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, but there is no denying the deep bond between us, grounded in our shared language, history, values and culture.

One of the strongest reflections of the strength of this bond is the level of trade and investment between Britain and America. Total two-way trade in goods and services in 1999 had a value in excess of £80bn. The UK came sixth in the US import table and was the fourth biggest market for US exports.

On investment, the special bond between Britain and America is even more apparent. The UK and the US are, respectively, the largest foreign direct investors in each other’s country. And each country acts as a launch pad for the other into new markets.

The UK, already attracting 40% of US investment into the European Union, is the base for many American firms seeking to break into Europe. The US acts as a base for many British firms looking to do business in the Americas – North, Central and South.
Maintaining and building upon the strength of the US-UK trade and investment links will allow both countries to reap even greater rewards from a profitable and long-standing relationship.

Trade Partners UK and its partner organisation Invest-UK are dedicated to working with business on both sides of the Atlantic to support and grow US-UK trade and investment.

Both offer professional advice and a broad range of facilitation services to UK and US companies, smoothing the path to even higher volumes of trade and investment between America and Britain.

Trade Partners UK and Invest-UK are backed by the UK Government, business organisations and the private sector, and draw upon the skills and reach of a worldwide network of British trade posts.

Trade Partners UK aims to give UK firms the up-to-the-minute, accurate information they need to sell more to the US – much of it available online at www.tradepartners.gov.uk.

Besides offering tailored market intelligence reports and free access to its export sales leads service, Trade Partners UK has developed a specialist Export USA package of assessment and training tools that can give smaller British firms the expertise and confidence they need to succeed in the US.

For US companies seeking to source supplies in the UK, the www.tradeuk.com web site provides a user-friendly, comprehensive database to help them quickly pinpoint the right supplier for their needs.

Invest UK – web site www.invest.uk.com – gives US companies all the information they need to start and expand a business in Britain, providing a single package that encompasses everything from locations, financial incentives, labour costs, tax and regulations.

With over 20 years’experience, Invest-UK has helped hundreds of American firms to build a future for their business in the UK, whether in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.

At the end of a century that saw the relationship between the UK and the US flourish, Trade Partners UK and Invest-UK are striving to give companies the services they need to develop our special relationship, founded in mutual interest and prosperity, further yet.