Liam Fox to attend transatlantic conference in Birmingham

The British American Business Council (BABC) annual conference takes place on June 7 and is expected attract delegates from all over Britain and North America as businesses in the city, led by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC), seek new markets in the post-Brexit era.

Mr Fox, MP for North Somerset, is a self-proclaimed ‘staunch Eurosceptic’, and has often spoken of the need for a clean break with Brussels.

He will join a stellar line-up of keynote speakers at the conference, including America’s ambassador to the UK, Robert Wood Johnson, and chief economist for accountancy firm RSM, Joe Brueselas,

Ambassador Johnson has been the US ambassador to the UK since last August, when he was nominated by the incoming president, Donald Trump. He has served on the President’s Export Council, the President’s Commission on White House Fellows and he is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has served for more than 30 years as the chairman and CEO of New York-based The Johnson Company, and also serves as chairman and CEO of the New York Jets and New York Jets Foundation.

Mr Brusuelas is a specialist in analysing the US monetary policy, labour markets, fiscal policy, economic indicators and the ‘condition of the American consumer’.

He has more than 20 years of experience in finance and economics. Prior to joining RSM in July 2014, he spent four years as a senior economist at Bloomberg, a privately held financial software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

A number of local speakers have also been confirmed for the conference, which is taking place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

They include BABC Midlands chapter president Professor Julian Beer, West Midlands mayor Andy Street, and Sir John Peace, the chairman of Midlands Engine.

The BABC conference follows the success of Birmingham’s high-profile presence at last year’s event in Chicago.

The conference is a highly sought-after occasion for which many of the American states and British cities bid. The event has previously been held in London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC and Chicago.

The BABC, which incorporates British American Business, is the largest transatlantic business network, with 22 chapters and 2,000 member companies, including many of the world’s largest multinationals, based in major business centres throughout the North America and the UK.