Extraterritorial Laws and Defense Trade Controls Top List of U.K.-U.S. Issues
In a story about U.S.-U.K. relations, the current edition of The Economist contains a list of "imbalances" in the areas of trade, justice and defense. Not surprisingly, issues relating to the extraterritorial application of U.S. economic sanctions and U.S. defense export controls were included in the list of five things that need to be fixed. Here is the complete list in the order presented in the article:
"Extradition treaty—A new extradition treaty signed between America and Britain in 2003 is seen as unfair because it has made it easier for America to extradite criminal suspects from Britain (with low requirements for evidence) than it is the other way round.
Internet gambling—America has closed its domestic gambling market to foreign (mainly British) internet betting companies despite clear rulings by the World Trade Organisation that the move is discriminatory.
Extraterritorial laws—Legislation such as the Helms-Burton Act and Patriot Act extends the reach of American law to other parts of the world, impeding trade and raising the risk that foreign firms and citizens may face prosecution in America for doing things that are legal in their home countries.Investment barriers—America’s domestic air travel market is closed to foreign airlines, whereas American firms have full access to Europe’s.
Defence—British defence firms and its military worry that American efforts to close its markets and to limit exports of sensitive military technology do not take account of historical ties and will undermine further co-operation."
Labels: Export Controls, Sanctions, United Kingdom
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