Trade area. This was the first paper published by any u. S. Think tank that set out this goal. , it is logical, reasonable, and even inevitable. The u. S. Has freetrade agreements with nations as diverse as south korea, jordan, and australia. If the u. K. Had not entered the eec in 1973, it is highly likely in my view that the u. S. And u. K. Would already have an fta today. As we put in our paper in 2014, there is never a reason to believe that written, the worlds sixth largest economy, will be able to negotiate trade agreements independently if forced to leave the e. U. On of its central priorities should be to ago she had a free trade area with the united states, a goal the u. S. Should also champion. An fta would be good for the economies of both nations, commit to economic freedom, and the further manifestation of their close relationship, it also be an opportunity for both nations to negotiate a free trade area based on sovereignty and freedom, each would establish a standard that could be applied to other trade negotiations. That continues to be our view today. We have been delighted over the past year to see both the u. S. And british governments commit themselves to negotiating what they have described as an ambitious free trade area. As britain approaches brexit on october 31, the new british government, led by Prime MinisterBoris Johnson, has recommitted itself both to leaving the European Union and fta with theof an united states. We are delighted to welcome to the Heritage Foundation and guest who shares these commitments. Elected to parliament in 2010 for southwest norfolk, she has served in the department of education, as secretary of state for the environment, food, and rural affairs, secretary of state for justice, and as chief secretary of the treasury, before being appointed on july 24 as the secretary of state for international trade. Following her remarks, there will be no question and answer forod and no time discussion. Please join me in welcoming the right honorable liz truss mp to the Heritage Foundation on what her thought is now for a u. S. U. K. Trade deal. [applause] good morning, everybody. It is fantastic to be here at the Heritage Foundation today, an organization which gave so much impetus to the Reagan Administration in the 1980s unleashing enterprise and opportunity. It is now very much the forefront of republican thinking , as you move into the next decade. And there is a reason why my first visit as trade secretary is to the united states. I have been in the job 14 days. Delighted to be in this important role. The department of trade was only set up three years ago, because britain has not had an independent trade policy for over 40 years. And i am not the only u. K. Minister in washington at the moment. In fact, i bumped into my colleague, the foreign secretary, at the gym yesterday morning, at 6 00 a. M. I was on the running machine and he was on the stairmaster. But as i say, it is never too early to talk about trade. At the opportunities are manyfold. Hey it will give us new freedoms abilityhe e. U. , a new to set out our own economic policy. And in my view, the ability to fta witho strike a new the u. S. Is very, very high up the list. It seems to me that with a positive relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister johnson, the impetus around the world to have more freedombased trade deals, as Ronald Reagan said in his 1980 campaign the time is now for being able to strike it. We are leaving the European Union on october 31. From minister johnson has been made very clear. There will be no ifs. There will be no buts,. We want to secure a deal with the e. U. , but if we have to leave with no deal, so be it. And as we do that, of course working with the u. S. Is going to be very important. You are our biggest single trading partner, in economic terms. But for me, it is about more than just the economics. The u. S. Embraces a spirit of optimism and can do. I think you can see under the new government in place in westminster we dont believe the whomsters for the doomsters say britains best days are behind us and we need to manage our decline. Quite the opposite. We think our best days are in front of us. And as begin percent, or almost said, its morning and as the itper said, or almost said, is morning again in britain. We are confident about our future. We believe britain is wellplaced to become europes largest economy. With the new freedoms that we will have, leaving the straitjacket of the e. U. , we will be able to build on all the strengths we have as a nation our fantastic universities, our lively tech sector, our law, andy, the rule of overall, the british attitude. One of the issues we have in the u. K. Is while london is a highlyproductive city, as productive as germany, we have parts of the u. K. That have not had the opportunities that london and the southeast have had. One of Boris Johnsons key planks is to level up across britain, to make sure we have , broadband inture cities like leaves and manchester, so they cities nd manchester, so they can become players on the world stage. I do not see a reason they cannot be high growth, high opportunity locations. We are also looking at setting up the new generation of free ports, something we have not been able to do because we have been part of the e. U. Customs union. In fact, i have been meeting wilbur ross this morning to talk about the american freezone, freeport opportunity zones, to talk about what we are going to learn. Tomorrow, i will be traveling to see it in the flesh and see how it works. A big opportunity to onshore manufacturing in the u. K. , to create customs zones where we will be able to import and export Raw Materials into finished goods and create value on our shores. Cities like liverpool, which were famous and are famous for transatlantic trade, which will benefit from the new freetrade , and which dou. S. A lot of trade with asiapacific what will those potential locations for a new freeport, which is very exciting. I have traveled around the u. S. Quite significantly, last year i was in detroit and cleveland, seeing the benefits that freedoms in this country have given to those Great American cities. And what i think the opportunity from brexit is is for us to think differently and be able to allow different places in our country to do things differently, so that they can reach their full potential. We give more power to local communities and allow enterprise to thrive. Of course, one of the biggest opportunities of brexit is the opportunity to strike a free trade deal with the united states, and i was pleased to meet ambassador lighthizer two days ago to discuss that opportunity and get things moving. This is following the very positive phone call between Prime MinisterBoris Johnson and President Trump. I think this shows there is a real economic headwind behind our economic partnership. That is something the Heritage Foundation has done a lot of work on, laying out those opportunities. And i want to restate the case of why our two countries should be working much more closely together. We are two of the freest, most democratic, open nations in the world. Our success has been driven by our people, not by bureaucrats for party officials. And ultimately it is the power of free enterprise, by giving people the ability to put their own ideas and resources forward and obtain the gains of that enterprise that has powered our nations forward. It is the idea that people should have the freedom to create value, goods, and services, to sell them both at home and abroad, and to reap the benefits of their own hard work. What i see a freetrade deal between our nations doing is accelerating , findingortunities that together we are the idea factor of the world, where people can dream big and they can realize their own ambitions. We are a tech empowered, network, datadriven pair of nations. If you think about it, together we created and developed the internet. This has been one of the most powerful inventions of our lifetime, giving more people power, taking power away from centralized authorities, and allowing people to express drive their own values forward, and ideas forward. And it is not surprising that if you look at billiondollar tech companies, the u. S. And the u. K. Are respectively first and third in the world. In fact, the u. K. Attracts more tech investment in france and germany put together. We have got a thriving scene of growth in startups. A 5 increase in business registrations over the past year, and a huge amount of new investment being attracted into our economy. What has this led to . For is led to a call clarity at the base of our nations. Today, there are more than a Million People in the u. K. Who go to work in u. S. Countries companies, and more than one Million People in the u. S. Who go to work for new companies every day. We should do this to the benefit of people in both our countries. Lets be clear. Not everybody wants us to succeed in this mission of giving people more power over their own lives, of allowing enterprise to thrive, and of making sure that consumers have choice, that they are able to buy what they aspire to and able to find a better life for their children. As our two nations continue to advance the cause of freedom, there is a growing disquiet from the left that sees america as a byword for free markets and free enterprise, and seeks to attack it. And i believe it is because the creatingccess opportunities through these means that antiamericanism has become a central tenet of take jeremyrine corbyn, the leader of the labour party in britain. His is a man who is so blinded by pernicious dislike of the west that he sees rogue states as morally equivalent to the united states. He cannot bring himself to condemn islamic extremism without identifying western s as the cause. Disgracefully, he parroted russian straight propaganda when a military grade nerve agent was used on the streets of britain. This was a man who calls westernhating hamas and has all of his friends. His friends. Lah he is antiamerican, antibritish, and antifreedom. What i dont want people to get the wrong impression. Aree politics of the left not what people in britain think. It is not what the British Public thing. You have got a huge number of people in britain working for American Companies or doing business with the u. S. We have got people who enjoy American Products and services. We had news today that britain now imports more from the u. S. Than from any other single country in the world, recently overtaking germany. Many brits visit america. We share so much language and culture. I was pleased to meet a group of businesses yesterday people from bt, for example who are getting Great Results in the united states. Joining politics, i had a career in cable and wireless, and i worked in Northern Virginia briefly, overseeing ship refurbishments, and i did some work on the west coast in the telecoms industry as well. Me is an deal for inevitable next step in the huge success our nations have working working together, promoting free enterprise, but also promoting freedom across the world. This is an exciting time for the u. K. When i was appointed to the job, we had 98 days to deliver brexit. I thought no doubt it is a huge challenge, that we are stepping up our new deal plan. We are aiming to leave on the 31st. We have a cabinet of people on the same team, who all support those same aims and ambitions. I could not be more thrilled to be part of that exciting venture. I think i am one of the luckiest people in the cabinet, because i have many of the opportunities of brexit to realize. Of course, striking a freetrade deal with the u. S. , also partners like australia, new zealand, canada there are lots of opportunities out there. I have never felt more excited about the possibilities before us. When leno reagan won the presidency, he issued a clarion call to those who believe in liberty and enterprise. He coined the phrase the time is now. He knew the power of freedom and the importance of alliances. Optimism perfectly the of the moment in the sense of opportunity before him. Really 40 years later, those words have a new salience in todays world. Ladies, the time is now. Thank you. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] in 1979, a Small Network had a big idea. Ownviewers make up their minds. Cspan opened the doors to washington policymaking for all to see, ringing you unfiltered content from congress and beyond. Years,as changed in 30 but today that big idea is more relevant than ever. On television and online, cspan is your unfiltered view of government, so you can make up your own mind. Brought to you as a Public Service by your cable or satellite provider. This afternoon, the Cato Institute joins the Heritage Foundation for debate of the political ideologies of the two think tanks. In debaters will be there turns. Libertarianism versus conservatism, life here on cspan, and online at cspan. Org, or listen on our free cspan radio app. We take you to the iowa state fair, which opened today. Two democratic president ial candidates, former Vice President joe biden and montana governor steve bullock, will one 45day beginning at eastern. Yesterday, the former Vice President , joe biden [indiscernible]