Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
Recommendation 20
10th Report – US Economic Prosperity Deal
Published 14 Sep 2025
Addressed to Department for Business and Trade
Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee UK trade with the US, India and EU All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
It is vital that the UK approaches the EPD not merely as a trade arrangement, but as a component of an economic and foreign policy strategy focused on ensuring Western leadership in the face of global competition, particularly from China. This strategy should be shaped by three frameworks: a. the priorities for growing the eight strategic sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy and Trade strategy; b. the Defence Industrial Strategy, which as we have recommended must contain a clear definition of the sovereign capabilities the UK seeks to on-shore, the capabilities we are content to trade for; and c. a clear-eyed assessment of risks to (i) critical supply chains, (ii) critical minerals, (iii) investment and (iv) export security as part of a wider economic security strategy. (Recommendation, Paragraph 106)
From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, 10th Report – US Economic Prosperity Deal (HC 1306), 14 September 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 28 November 2025 (deadline 14 November 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out its work on the Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) and states that discussions with the US on the full scope of the deal are continuing, without stating that it accepts or rejects the Committee's recommendations as a whole.
- On parliamentary scrutiny and a Commons debate, the government states that it "will continue to keep the House fully informed" and that any final EPD agreement "will be scrutinised by Parliament in line with established procedures". It does not set out a timetable or commit to a debate.
- On steel and aluminium, it says the UK "will remain the only country in the world to benefit from a preferential 25% rate" and commits to publishing its steel strategy "by the end of this year".
- On the Trade Remedies Authority, the government is "seeking to introduce legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows", with further details "in due course".
- On forced labour, it says it is "actively examining" existing measures and "considering" approaches including mandatory due diligence and import controls, as part of a review of responsible business conduct.