US drug companies are eyeing post-Brexit UK for a chance to raise prices, new documents have revealed, despite Donald Trump’s recent statement that he had no interest in the NHS even if it was handed to him ‘on a silver platter’.
A document written by the US Chamber of Commerce and Coalition of Services Industries, seen by the Mirror, noted that when the UK becomes a lone negotiating partner it should be easier to crack the UK market at higher prices.
The document compares the upcoming trade talks to the negotiations made between the US and the EU for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that collapsed in 2016.
The Mirror reported it as saying: “Negotiations between the United States and the UK may encounter some of the difficulties that arose during TTIP.
“Concerns about potential impacts on Britain’s National Health Service are being aired.
“It should prove easier to overcome these challenges with the UK as an individual negotiating partner.”
The document also reportedly said that across all services sectors, the US will seek to prohibit “discrimination against foreign services suppliers and restrictions on the number of services suppliers in the market”.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “This is yet another quote direct from the horse’s mouth, showing Boris Johnson does not support a free at the point of use NHS.
“These revelations are coming thick and fast and demonstrate Johnson’s extremist views on the NHS.
“More cuts, privatisation and now charges are on the way if Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party get five more years.”
Prior to the NATO summit, Donald Trump denied he had any interest in the NHS after Brexit – directly contradicting statements he made earlier in the summer.
WATCH: Trump says he has no idea where NHS rumours started – despite saying it himself“We wouldn’t want to if you handed it to us on a platter,” he said.
However when asked in June, Trump said: “I think everything with a trade deal is on the table. When you deal in trade, everything is on the table. So NHS or anything else.”
Liberal Democrat business spokesperson Chuka Umunna said that Trump’s latest reassurances will be taken with a “lorry load of salt”.
He added: “Trump has repeatedly made clear in the past that everything including the NHS will be on the table in future negotiations.
“If Boris Johnson wins a majority he’ll be so desperate for a trade deal with Donald Trump that he’ll become his poodle. Johnson can’t be trusted with our health service, our medicines or our food standards, all of which would be at risk after Brexit.”
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