With the UK preparing to leave the European Union and the trade agreements that came with membership, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has announced a new council to strengthen business ties between the country and the U.S.

The U.S.-UK Business Council will be "the leading Washington platform for the American business community to engage with policymakers on deepening trade and investment ties between the U.S. and the UK," the Chamber said in a statement. The new body will also enable U.S. companies to communicate with UK and EU officials as the country renegotiates its relationship with the latter.

"The special economic relationship between the U.S. and the UK is rooted in a shared reverence for free enterprise, free markets and mutually beneficial trade," said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of International Affairs for the Chamber. "Our common pride in those principles means that as the UK forges a new path in this global economy, policymakers will be faced with significant decisions that necessarily impact the American business community."

The United States and United Kingdom are each other's single largest foreign investors, according to the Chamber. U.S. firms have invested over $600 billion in the UK market—nearly a quarter of total U.S. investment in Europe—and UK companies have invested over $450 billion in the U.S. market.

The U.S.-UK Business Council is comprised of dozens of companies. Members of the council's board include Allergan, Amway, The Coca-Cola Company, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, Experian, IBM, Microsoft, UPS and Zebra Technologies. http://uscham.com/2jFf04U

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