Safety experts have urged the government to exclude US car imports from any post-Brexit trade deal with Donald Trump, warning that they have lower safety standards.
The Parliamentary Advisory Council on Transport Safety says imported vehicles should still have to meet British standards for collisions with pedestrians, children, and people on bikes – which many US vehicles do not.
The Council has written to Trade Secretary Liz Truss warning that US safety standards “are much lower than those permitted for vehicles sold in the UK”.
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The warning mirrors a row over US food imports and whether food produced to lower US animal welfare and safety standards could be allowed into British supermarkets under a free trade agreement.
“We note that in negotiations covering food safety the USA has argued against accepting higher UK standards. It has sought to characterise these as protectionism,” the Council said in a letter to Ms Truss first reported by the BBC.
“We are concerned that pressure for lower safety standards will be applied in negotiations regarding the automotive sector.
“US vehicle safety standards are much lower than those permitted for vehicles sold in the UK.”
A 2018 report by the World Health Organisation which reviewed laws and crashes in 175 nations found that the US’s traffic fatality rate was 12.4 deaths per 100,000 — around 50 per cent higher than comparable countries in western Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan.
The same report also said the US lagged behind Europe, including the UK, on implementing UN vehicle safety standards.
The head of the UK Transport Research Laboratory, Richard Cuerden, told the BBC: “We know the prime minister and others have said the automotive sector is on the cards for a new trade deal after Brexit. Well, it’s fine to trade – but they have to meet our rules in this regard.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Road safety or environmental standards will not be diminished as part of a free trade agreement with the USA or any other country.”
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Sam Lowe, a trade policy expert and senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told The Independent he would expect a US trade deal to lift tariffs on American cars but that this might not lead to more on the roads.
“The main reason US cars aren’t more popular in the UK and Europe isn’t necessarily tariffs or the need to meet more stringent standards, it’s that British consumers don’t like them very much,” he said.
1/50 17 July 2020
Airplanes of the Scandinavian Airshow draw a heart in the sky, above the Turning Torso building in Malmo, Sweden
TT News Agency/Reuters
2/50 16 July 2020
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Tengger tribe people make their way to the summit of Mount Bromo volcano to make offerings in Probolinggo, as part of the Yadnya Kasada Festival. The Tenggerese climb the active volcano to seek the blessing from the main deity by presenting offerings of rice, fruit, livestock and other items
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12/50 6 July 2020
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16/50 2 July 2020
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18/50 30 June 2020
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20/50 28 June 2020
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21/50 27 June 2020
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22/50 26 June 2020
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23/50 25 June 2020
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24/50 24 June 2020
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25/50 23 June 2020
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26/50 22 June 2020
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27/50 21 June 2020
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28/50 20 June 2020
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29/50 19 June 2020
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30/50 18 June 2020
Alpha jets from the French Air Force Patrouille de France and the Royal Air Force Red Arrows perform a flypast over the statue of Charles de Gaulle on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris to celebrate the 80th anniversary of wartime leader’s appeal to the French people to resist the Nazi occupation, broadcast from London
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31/50 17 June 2020
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32/50 16 June 2020
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34/50 14 June 2020
People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest march in central Tokyo
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35/50 13 June 2020
Protesters raise their fists during a demonstration against police brutality and racism in Paris, France. The march was organised by supporters of Assa Traore, whose brother Adama died in police custody in 2016, in circumstances that remain unclear
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36/50 12 June 2020
A pro-democracy supporter shouts at riot police during an anti-national security law rally in Mongkok district in Hong Kong, China. Protesters heeded online calls to gather as the city marks the one-year anniversary of the major clashes between police and pro-democracy demonstrators over the controversial extradition bill
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37/50 11 June 2020
A section of the River Spree next to the Reichstag building coloured green by activists from “Extinction Rebellion” to protest the German government’s coal policies in Berlin
AFP via Getty
38/50 10 June 2020
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39/50 9 June 2020
Ivy McGregor, left, reads a resolution during the funeral for George Floyd at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston. George Floyd is being laid to rest in his hometown, the culmination of a long farewell to the 46-year-old African American whose death in custody ignited global protests against police brutality and racism
AFP via Getty
40/50 8 June 2020
People raise their fist and stand on their knees as they demonstrate in Nantes, during a Black Lives Matter protest
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41/50 7 June 2020
A woman looks on during a protest against the killing of George Floyd in Osaka city, western Japan
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42/50 6 June 2020
Demonstrator raise their fists at the Lincoln Memorial during a protest against police brutality and racism in Washington, DC. Demonstrations are being held across the US following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, while being arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota
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43/50 5 June 2020
A handout photo made available by 2020 Planet Labs shows an aerial view of the large diesel spill in the Ambarnaya River outside Norilsk in the Arctic. Russia has managed to contain a massive diesel spill into a river in the Arctic, a spokeswoman for the emergencies ministry told AFP. Environmentalists said the oil spill, which took place last May 29, was the worst such accident ever in the Arctic region
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44/50 4 June 2020
Activists hold a candlelit remembrance outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, after the annual vigil, that traditionally takes place in the park to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, was banned on public health grounds because coronavirus
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45/50 3 June 2020
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46/50 2 June 2020
Activists of the Socialist Unity Centre of India shout slogans in Ahmedabad in solidarity with protests against the recent killing of George Floyd
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Activists take part in a Black Lives Matter protest in Zurich after the recent death of George Floyd
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48/50 31 May 2020
A black man and a white woman hold their hands up in front of police officers in downtown Long Beach during a protest against the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while being arrested and pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. Protests sweeping the United States over the death of George Floyd reverberated on the other side of the globe when thousands marched in solidarity on the streets of New Zealand
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49/50 30 May 2020
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50/50 29 May 2020
A boy holds a sign as refugees protest outside the UNHCR offices against a government decision that they should leave their accommodation provided through European Union and UNHCR funds by the end of May, in Athens, Greece
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1/50 17 July 2020
Airplanes of the Scandinavian Airshow draw a heart in the sky, above the Turning Torso building in Malmo, Sweden
TT News Agency/Reuters
2/50 16 July 2020
Farmers protest outside the Indonesian Parliament against the cancellation of an ‘omnibus bill’ that aims to revise dozens of existing laws to ease the way for investment in Southeast Asia’s largest economy in Jakarta
Reuters
3/50 15 July 2020
Flooding in Sunamganj. Almost four million people have been hit by monsoon floods in South Asia, with a third of Bangladesh already underwater from some of the heaviest rains in a decade
AFP via Getty
4/50 14 July 2020
Second Republican infantry guard regiment take part in the annual Bastille Day military ceremony on the Place de la Concorde in Paris
AFP via Getty
5/50 13 July 2020
A man walks his dog through thick sea foam blowing ashore during a storm in Seapoint, Cape Town, South Africa
EPA
6/50 12 July 2020
Security forces on the outskirts of Amritsar take part in Van Mahotsav, an annual tree-planting festival in India
AFP via Getty
7/50 11 July 2020
People covered with coloured powder enjoy music during the Holi festival in Minsk, Belarus
EPA
8/50 10 July 2020
A demonstrator during clashes following the funeral of 29-year-old Palestinian Ibrahim Abou Yacoub, who was killed by Israeli forces, in the village of Kifl Hares, south of the West Bank city of Nablus
AFP via Getty
9/50 9 July 2020
The sun rises in Timmendorfer Strand, northern Germany
AP
10/50 8 July 2020
Portraits of healthcare workers are pasted on the Opera Bastille, designed by Anne-Christine Poujoulat, to pay tribute to caregivers during the Covid-19 pandemic in Paris
Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty
11/50 7 July 2020
Tengger tribe people make their way to the summit of Mount Bromo volcano to make offerings in Probolinggo, as part of the Yadnya Kasada Festival. The Tenggerese climb the active volcano to seek the blessing from the main deity by presenting offerings of rice, fruit, livestock and other items
AFP via Getty
12/50 6 July 2020
A healthcare worker checks the temperature of residents during a check-up campaign in Mumbai, India
Reuters
13/50 5 July 2020
People wearing protective face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus sit at a bus stop in the city of Zanjan, Iran
AP
14/50 4 July 2020
Protesters blocking an exit to the precinct of the officers who arrested Elijah McClain, cover their ears anticipating the use of flash-bang grenades by police in Aurora, Colorado
Reuters
15/50 3 July 2020
A member of the Israeli border police jumps during a Palestinian protest against Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank, in Kafr Qaddum near Nablus
Reuters
16/50 2 July 2020
A surfer jumps clear of his board while enjoying winter waves at New Brighton Beach in Christchurch, New Zealand
AP
17/50 1 July 2020
A man is detained by riot police during a demonstration in Hong Kong. China imposed a new national security law which has faced international condemnation
Getty
18/50 30 June 2020
A man smokes a pipe while wearing a face mask during a demonstration in Nantes, as part of a nationwide day of protests to demand better working conditions for health workers in France
AFP via Getty
19/50 29 June 2020
Lawmakers from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party scuffle with people from the main opposition Kuomintang party, who have been occupying the Legislature Yuan, in Taipei
Reuters
20/50 28 June 2020
Protester holds crosses during a demonstration in honour of the victims of coronavirus in front of Brazil’s National Congress
Getty
21/50 27 June 2020
A demonstrator wearing a face mask holds a sign during a protest against police brutality and racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, at the Victory column in Berlin
Reuters
22/50 26 June 2020
Hygienists inside a decontamination area in a coronavirus treatment centre that cares for positive patients that show little or no symptoms in Dakar
AFP via Getty
23/50 25 June 2020
A seagull snatches a croissant from a buffet during a press conference at the headquarters of AP Moeller – Maersk in Copenhagen, Denmark
Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty
24/50 24 June 2020
A volunteer receives an injection from a medical worker during the country’s first human clinical trial for a potential vaccine against coronavirus, at the Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, South Africa
Reuters
25/50 23 June 2020
Swiss acrobat Ramon Kathriner performs during the “Glacier 3000” Air show, an event marking the reopening of the Alpine facilities above Les Diablerets
AFP via Getty
26/50 22 June 2020
A worker cleans volcanic ash off the stupas at the Borobudur temple in Indonesia, a day after Mount Merapi erupted in nearby Sleman, sending a plume of ash into the sky
AFP via Getty
27/50 21 June 2020
Aerial view of a burial at the Vila Formosa cemetery during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on June 21, 2020. – The novel coronavirus has killed at least 464,423 people worldwide since the outbreak began in China last December, being Brazil Latin America’s worsthit country with 49,976 deaths from 1,067,579 cases.
AFP via Getty
28/50 20 June 2020
National Guards form a line in front of “Black Lives Matter” protestors in Tulsa, Oklahoma where Donald Trump was holding a campaign rally
AFP via Getty
29/50 19 June 2020
Nurses, doctors, midwives and health care workers attend the fourth Zumba dance session organised by the Nursing Council of Kenya at Kenyatta stadium where screening booths and an isolation field hospital have been installed. The dance sessions have been organised to re-energise and uplift health care providers sprits during this pandemic
AFP via Getty
30/50 18 June 2020
Alpha jets from the French Air Force Patrouille de France and the Royal Air Force Red Arrows perform a flypast over the statue of Charles de Gaulle on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris to celebrate the 80th anniversary of wartime leader’s appeal to the French people to resist the Nazi occupation, broadcast from London
Reuters
31/50 17 June 2020
Activists from the Extinction Rebellion movement block a street outside the German Automobile industry association during a protest in Berlin
AFP via Getty
32/50 16 June 2020
Barbers wearing protective suits and face masks inside a salon in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Reuters
33/50 15 June 2020
Siegfried White raises his hand as he protests outside a burned Wendy’s restaurant on the third day following Rayshard Brooks death. The black man was shot by police in the car park in Atlanta. The mayor ordered immediate police reforms on Monday after the fatal shooting by a white officer
AFP via Getty
34/50 14 June 2020
People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest march in central Tokyo
AFP via Getty
35/50 13 June 2020
Protesters raise their fists during a demonstration against police brutality and racism in Paris, France. The march was organised by supporters of Assa Traore, whose brother Adama died in police custody in 2016, in circumstances that remain unclear
EPA
36/50 12 June 2020
A pro-democracy supporter shouts at riot police during an anti-national security law rally in Mongkok district in Hong Kong, China. Protesters heeded online calls to gather as the city marks the one-year anniversary of the major clashes between police and pro-democracy demonstrators over the controversial extradition bill
Getty
37/50 11 June 2020
A section of the River Spree next to the Reichstag building coloured green by activists from “Extinction Rebellion” to protest the German government’s coal policies in Berlin
AFP via Getty
38/50 10 June 2020
A woman poses in front of a decapitated statue of Christopher Columbus at Christopher Columbus Park in Boston Massachusetts. The statue’s head, damaged overnight, was recovered by the Boston Police Department, as a movement to remove statues commemorating slavers and colonisers continues to sweep across the US
AFP via Getty
39/50 9 June 2020
Ivy McGregor, left, reads a resolution during the funeral for George Floyd at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston. George Floyd is being laid to rest in his hometown, the culmination of a long farewell to the 46-year-old African American whose death in custody ignited global protests against police brutality and racism
AFP via Getty
40/50 8 June 2020
People raise their fist and stand on their knees as they demonstrate in Nantes, during a Black Lives Matter protest
AFP via Getty
41/50 7 June 2020
A woman looks on during a protest against the killing of George Floyd in Osaka city, western Japan
EPA
42/50 6 June 2020
Demonstrator raise their fists at the Lincoln Memorial during a protest against police brutality and racism in Washington, DC. Demonstrations are being held across the US following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, while being arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota
AFP via Getty
43/50 5 June 2020
A handout photo made available by 2020 Planet Labs shows an aerial view of the large diesel spill in the Ambarnaya River outside Norilsk in the Arctic. Russia has managed to contain a massive diesel spill into a river in the Arctic, a spokeswoman for the emergencies ministry told AFP. Environmentalists said the oil spill, which took place last May 29, was the worst such accident ever in the Arctic region
Planet Labs Inc./AFP via Getty
44/50 4 June 2020
Activists hold a candlelit remembrance outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, after the annual vigil, that traditionally takes place in the park to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, was banned on public health grounds because coronavirus
AFP via Getty
45/50 3 June 2020
A visitor walks in Odaiba as the sun sets in Tokyo
AP
46/50 2 June 2020
Activists of the Socialist Unity Centre of India shout slogans in Ahmedabad in solidarity with protests against the recent killing of George Floyd
AP
47/50 1 June 2020
Activists take part in a Black Lives Matter protest in Zurich after the recent death of George Floyd
EPA
48/50 31 May 2020
A black man and a white woman hold their hands up in front of police officers in downtown Long Beach during a protest against the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while being arrested and pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. Protests sweeping the United States over the death of George Floyd reverberated on the other side of the globe when thousands marched in solidarity on the streets of New Zealand
AFP via Getty
49/50 30 May 2020
Police officers are seen amid tear gas as protesters continue to rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Reuters
50/50 29 May 2020
A boy holds a sign as refugees protest outside the UNHCR offices against a government decision that they should leave their accommodation provided through European Union and UNHCR funds by the end of May, in Athens, Greece
Reuters
“I would expect any trade agreement between the US and UK to remove tariffs on cars, but I wouldn’t expect that to lead to loads more American cars on the roads in Britain.”
Negotiations between the US and UK with a view to signing a free trade deal started at the beginning of May.
