A new UK-USA free trade agreement should be ambitious in emerging sectors such as fintech and data-driven technology.

In a speech at the Centre for Policy Studies, International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox will set out how the UK and USA can both benefit from striking a bold and ambitious free trade agreement after Brexit.

Underlining the importance of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to global trade, Dr Fox will also call on the US to help the UK and other countries to overhaul the global trade rules so that it is ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

In the speech, he will restate the government’s position that the NHS will never be for sale to the private sector and a US, or any other trade deal, will not alter this.

The government has also been clear that it will not lower its high food safety, animal welfare or animal protection standards as part of any new trade agreement.

On his priorities for a US-UK FTA, Dr Liam Fox will say:

As two of the most innovative economies in the world, we should work together to shape the sectors of the future, from trade in services to fintech and data-driven technology.

Not only will this be a boon for businesses and communities across our countries, but it could also be a trailblazer, setting the global benchmark for how two leading economies can trade with each other.

So I’m pleased that President Trump took the opportunity to underline his commitment to achieving this goal this during his visit.

He will also outline the urgent need to resolve the stalemate in the appointment of members to the WTO’s Appellate Body, which rules on disputes between WTO members.

Urgent reform is also needed to ensure the WTO is fit to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Reform would include updating outdated WTO rules on digital and services trade.

Calling for the UK and US to work together on reforming the global trading system, he will say:

The United Kingdom and the United States are in a great position to drive the overhaul that the international rules-based trading system badly needs. This means reforming WTO rules to prevent countries engaging in unfair trade practices such as illegal subsidies or dumping.

It means tackling issues like industrial subsidies and state-owned enterprises. It means strengthening the dispute settlement system.

And it means removing barriers to trade by agreeing new rules for e-commerce, and tackling obstacles to digital trade such as unjustified data localisation.

Our two great nations have done so much down the generations to open up our markets, and those of us who genuinely believe in free trade have a duty to uphold these values.

Two UK universities have been added to the growing list of Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACEs-CSR), further enhancing the UK’s leading position in cyber security research.

The two new centres at De Montfort University and Northumbria University have been recognised by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as having first rate research capabilities.

Their strengths include improving our approaches to help people better understand how to protect themselves online, and developing new technologies to protect critical infrastructure like telecommunications.

They join a list of 17 other institutions across the whole of the UK which are regarded as strategic partners to Government, and are producing cutting edge research in cyber security.

Digital Minister Margot James said:

The UK has some of the best minds in the cyber security field and it’s only right that we recognise those universities that can excel when it comes to carrying out world leading research. The global threat of cyber security is never far from our minds we want to ensure that our best and brightest can help shape our national cyber security strategy.

Chris Ensor, NCSC Deputy Director for Cyber Growth said:

I’m delighted to welcome Northumbria and De Montfort Universities to the ACE-CSR community. We have seen the community grow from 8 universities to 19 and that has been down to the hard work and investment they have all put in. Both are existing members of our Research Institutes and it is brilliant to see how they have built on and developed their broader capacity and capability over several years, to now meet the standards required of an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research.

Professor Lynne Coventry, Principal Investigator and Research Director of Psychology who leads the Northumbria Cyber Security Research Group said:

Cyber security research has typically been directed towards finding technological solutions, but as our technological perimeter has strengthened, people have been left behind and become prime targets for cyber attackers.

To stop today’s advanced attacks we need to understand how to better protect the general public by adopting a people-centric cybersecurity strategy and exploring how to design security technology and policies which support individuals in their endeavours, rather than being perceived as a barrier. At Northumbria our holistic, multidisciplinary approach to cyber security integrates diverse knowledge from specialists in technology, human behaviour, business, law and design. We are delighted to receive this recognition for our work in these areas.

Professor Eerke Boiten, Director of the CTI and Professor in Cyber Security at De Montfort University said:

We are very proud of this achievement. Being named an ACE-CSR highlights our strong industry engagement and first class research capabilities

This recognition will strongly support our future plans for national and international collaborative research in topics such as industrial control systems, human factors in security, incident response, cybercrime and privacy. It also perfectly complements the provisional NCSC certification that DMU offers for two of its Master’s degrees in Cyber Security and Cyber Technology. The ACE-CSR programme is part of delivering by Government’s £1.9 billion National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS) 2016-2021.

Northumbria University was a founding member of the Research Institute in Science of Cyber Security, while De Montfort is an Airbus Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security and Forensics.

Notes to editors:

• List of institutions that are recognised as Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research are:
• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• Cardiff University
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Kent
• Imperial College London
• King’s College London
• Lancaster University
• Newcastle University
• University of Oxford
• Queen’s University Belfast
• Royal Holloway, University of London
• University of Southampton
• University of Surrey
• University of Warwick
• University College London
• The universities will be recognised as Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research until June 2022.