Anger as No10 halts US trade talks

DOWNING STREET has ordered Britain’s trade negotiators to call a halt to talks with America over a post-EU deal – over fears that it might ‘spook’ Brussels and ruin the chance of a breakthrough in the Brexit impasse.

Officials at the Department for International Trade (DiT) have privately expressed their frustration that No 10 is not allowing them to close a deal with Washington in case it angers the EU in the run-up to the critical summit on October 17.

The DiT has hit back by arguing that securing deals with the US and other countries would help the talks by giving them ‘leverage’ for ‘the purposes of EU negotiations’.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss says that the US, Japan, New Zealand and Australia are all ready to negotiate a free trade agreement with the UK post-Brexit, describing them as ‘very enthusiastic trading partners’ who are ‘very keen to get started’. In America’s case, it would be the largest free trade agreement the US has ever signed with another nation. Washington’s major priority is to cut UK tariffs on steel imports, while Ms Truss is determined to secure access to the US’s market for financial services.

Ms Truss said at last week’s Tory conference: ‘There are negotiations to go through first, but we are going to be tough negotiators. This is because we are in a very strong position, we’re striking our first trade deals in 45 years, we’re the fifth largest economy in the world. We have a lot of opportunities that those other nations want to access, though it’s got to be in our interest to strike a deal.’

Ms Truss travelled to New York last month to meet her opposite number, US trade boss Robert Lighthizer – and to insist the UK will not compromise on food standards or access to the NHS as part of the deal. London and Washington have provisionally agreed to aim for a deal to be struck by July 2020 – assuming Brexit has finally been secured before then.