23rd May 2013 Washington DC, USA
Two countries separated by different summers It’s that time of year again when Washington D.C. slowly but surely starts to melt. The heart of the East Coast summer time. Temperatures in the 80s, 90s and even higher. Suffocating humidity. Blazing sun. A feeling that we could be living in a swamp. The realisation that we […]
2nd April 2013 Washington DC, USA
On March 12, British living legend David Bowie released his first new album in almost ten years – “The Next Day”. The record has been met with a tremendous reception, both critically and commercially. Q Magazine crowned its release with a gold plated five star review. It entered the UK album chart at the number […]
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27th March 2013 Seattle, USA
When I was growing up in Canterbury, Kent, a house in our street had the name plate “Dunroamin” hung up on the outside wall. I was only about 8 years old, and hadn’t come across the term before. I thought it was a place in Ireland. But of course it means a state of mind […]
22nd March 2013 Washington DC, USA
Last week, I argued that a successful Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership would put millions of consumers on both sides in touch with millions of businesses on both sides and be a real shot in the arm for business and jobs. In that blog, I argued that a successful TTIP would benefit the US in […]
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13th March 2013 Washington DC, USA
My Ambassador had an op-ed in op-ed in USA Today last week on the case for the EU and the US striking a free trade deal. I thought I would develop some of the economic arguments underpinning the strong case he made. Economists often propound the benefits of free trade in terms of numbers, sometimes […]
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8th March 2013 Washington DC, USA
In the United States this weekend, the clocks will go forward one hour. At precisely 1.59:59 on Sunday, our clocks will wind forward a whole hour to 3am. We will have leapt forward into spring as the saying goes and observe Daylight Savings Time (DST). The mornings will become darker and the evenings lighter. In […]
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8th February 2013 Washington DC, USA
Banks. Bankers. Financial Services. Bail-outs. LIBOR. Bonuses. You are probably a bit fed up of hearing all those terms. Haven’t we been talking about banks and the financial sector non-stop for five years? Isn’t this stuff meant to be boring Wouldn’t we rather be talking about Beyonce at the Superbowl instead? These issues are hugely […]
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1st February 2013 Seattle, USA
After three and a half years of leading the British Embassy in Washington’s trade policy and business affairs team, I’ve taken up a new assignment. Still in the US, happily, and a lot closer to the mountains. Still has “Washington” in the address. Still working on prosperity, trade and investment. But on the other side […]
19th December 2012 USA
I should confess that while I am not Scottish I would quite fancy being Scottish for a while. The Scots, like the Irish, are renowned for being people who love to live life to the fullest. They produce God’s finest water (Scottish whiskys are seeing their exports to the US and most others markets rocket […]
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14th November 2012
I’ve just been given the huge privilege of becoming a board member of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) , a well-respected non-profit, non-partisan DC-based organisation dedicated to robust discussions on international trade policy issues. I’ve been a member of WITA since my arrival here in July 2009, benefiting not just from its trade policy […]
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