The US and UK are both attempting to craft a treaty to allow Britain to buy defence products from American companies without having to obtain export licences, a report in the Financial Times says.
The paper reports the treaty could represent a big victory for Tony Blair, the outgoing British prime minister, who repeatedly lobbied George W Bush over what has been a long-standing disagreement between the two countries.
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The deal is likely to face opposition from the US Congress, which in previous years has blocked efforts by the administration to help the UK obtain waivers from arms-control restrictions.
Under the present system the US provides expedited approval for arms export applications from the UK and Australia. But UK officials say each licence requires more than a month to obtain and requests unrelated to Iraq and Afghanistan take longer.
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