US downplays post-Brexit deal

London, May 6: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has downplayed any prospect of an imminent trade deal with a post-Brexit Britain. In an interview with BBC radio broadcast Thursday, Blinken said any deal would take “some time” and that US President Joe Biden wants to ensure any trade agreement would benefit American workers and their families.

“Our trade negotiator just got on the job, so she's taking the time to go back and review everything that was discussed and that's going to take some time,” said Blinken, who was in London in the early part of the week for the Group of Seven meeting of foreign ministers.

“We want to make sure that, whether it's with the United Kingdom or anyone else, any agreements reached are consistent with the principles that President Biden has established to focus on making sure that these agreements really advance the wellbeing of our workers and their families. That’s our focus.” Blinken said the US's new trade negotiator, Katherine Tai, would be taking time to review the discussions that had taken place with the preceding administration of Donald Trump before progressing with the talks.

Trump had been a keen proponent of a trade deal with Britain, which formally left the economic orbit of the European Union at the start of this year. Now outside the EU, the UK can negotiate its own trade deals — previously, when within the bloc, the EU had negotiated trade deals on behalf of its members.

One of the main arguments of Brexit supporters in the runup to the referendum on Britain's membership of the EU in 2016 was the prospect of a swift trade deal with the US, the world's largest economy. —