Trump trade offer boosts Brexiteers

DONALD Trump promised US commerce with Britain will increase ‘very substantially’ after a post-Brexit deal to preserve £12.8billion of trade was agreed yesterday.

Speaking at the White House, the President made clear he was happy with the deal and said the ‘very good trading relationship’ between the two countries had been ‘strengthened further’.

His comments will hearten pro-Brexit supporters who have argued that leaving the European Union will enable Britain to strike lucrative free trade deals across the globe.

Mr Trump had previously criticised Theresa May’s handling of Brexit, warning her moves to negotiate a softer deal with the EU could ‘kill’ any new deal with the US.

The new mutual recognition agreement replicates the current deal between the EU and US on technical standards for exported goods.

Mr Trump made the comments in passing as he rattled through his administration’s foreign policy successes. ‘With the UK, we’re continuing our trade and we’re actually going to be increasing it very substantially as time goes by,’ he said.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox leapt on the remarks, saying: ‘President Trump’s statement was clear – the UK and the USA share a special trade relationship and there is real ambition on both sides of the Atlantic to enhance this after we leave the European Union.’