Biden Builds A New Brand USA
As you follow President Elect Biden’s evolving administration, and likely relations with the UK and EU, improving US perceptions in the eyes of international business leaders around the globe – from pity to positive – has already started with this weekend’s promise of rejoining the Paris Climate Accord and WHO, giving a new Secretary of State (America’s Global Marketing Officer) a solid platform for brand renewal.
On the back of my latest edition of Working with Americans, that UK and EU business leaders can expect:
- A new US-UK “special relationship” with Biden’s administration that will take some time to build as it focuses on domestic issues including healthcare, climate, the economy and not least the Covid-19 pandemic;
- An EU agreement to be a higher priority and gain more attention from the Biden-Harris administration given the size of the commercial prize for US companies compared to a post-Brexit UK economy;
- The new US Trade Representative and team, part of the Executive Office of the President, installed after Biden’s January 20th inauguration, to wait and watch how the UK-EU trade agreement unfolds by mid-Nov – allowing for European Parliament ratification – to ensure no risks to the Good Friday Agreement;
- UK Trade Minister Liz Truss to work at winning the trust of her new American counterparts, requiring time and an informed US negotiation approach, one that’s:
- Direct – uses explicit language and requests, leaving nothing implied
- Quantitative – the language of US business is numbers
- Win/Win focused – seeking routes for the US and UK to craft a deal that helps both, though in different ways
- Closes the sale – recaps the gains of each party and why Britain wants the trade deal
Once Biden and Harris are installed in office and the excitement subsides, the hard work of negotiation begins in earnest with wins for the UK and EU a direct result of understanding American approaches to influencing, communicating and doing deals.
