This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Jonathan Knott

Former British ambassador to Hungary, Budapest

Part of UK in Hungary

15th July 2013 Budapest, Hungary

A once in a generation chance for jobs and growth

Guest blog by Senior Economic Officer Vilmos Frigyes Nagy

Last week was indeed a special week. On Monday in Washington the EU and US started to negotiate the details of an extraordinary trade initiative. The short name is TTIP which stands for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. It has the potential to be the largest bilateral trade deal ever agreed, and could change our lives for the better on both sides of the Atlantic.

The aim of the TTIP is to create new opportunities for jobs and growth by cutting barriers to EU-US trade, including tariffs and red tape. An ambitious, extensive TTIP should bring more opportunities for the UK and Hungary to increase their direct and indirect exports to the USA and help SMEs by reducing the many rules, standards and other bureaucratic procedures that make it harder to penetrate the US market.

As PM David Cameron said at the recent G8 summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland: “… there is no more powerful way to achieve that [economic growth] than by boosting trade. And there’s no better way than by launching these negotiations on a landmark deal between the European Union and the United States of America; a deal that could add as much as £100 billion to the EU economy, £80 billion to the US economy, and as much as £85 billion to the rest of the world.”

The positions of EU Member States on TTIP were, and remain, aligned in a way similar to bicycles entering a bike rack: one-by-one towards the same target.

Leading politicians in Hungary, including PM Viktor Orbán and Foreign Affairs Minister Martonyi, agree that eliminating the barriers of international trade could offer significant advantages for our countries.

TTIP represents a once in a generation opportunity to secure new jobs and growth.  So we have to seize the moment, act boldly, and conclude the negotiations quickly. That will enable us all to start reaping the economic benefits, including improved growth, as soon as possible.

About Jonathan Knott

Jonathan Knott was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Hungary in March 2011 and arrived in Budapest in February 2012 to take up his post. He left this post on April…

Jonathan Knott was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to
Hungary in March 2011 and arrived in Budapest in February 2012 to take
up his post. He left this post on April 2015.
He has previously held a variety of diplomatic posts at home and
abroad, several with a particular focus on commercial and corporate
finance issues. Jonathan has served in a number of positions in the
British Diplomatic Service since joining in 1988:
Before his appointment was Deputy Head of Mission and Director for Trade and Investment in South Korea from 2008 to 2011.Between 2005 and 2008 he held the post of Deputy Finance Director in the FCO.From 2000 to 2005 he served as First Secretary (Trade, Corporate Affairs and Finance Negotiator) in UKDel OECD Paris.From 1996 to 2000 he was First Secretary (Head of Political/Economic/Aid Section) in Mexico.From 1995 to 1996 he worked in the FCO as Deputy European Correspondent at the EU Directorate.Between 1991 and 1995 he served as Third later Second Secretary (Political / Press and Public Affairs) in Havana.From 1990 to 1991 he was Desk Officer in the FCO’s First Gulf War Emergency Unit.Between 1988 and 1990 he worked as Desk Officer in the FCO in the Anti Drugs Cooperation Department.
Jonathan holds an MA in law from Oxford University, and he is a
member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He speaks
English, French, Spanish and Hungarian. He is married to Angela Susan
Knott and has one daughter and two sons.

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