Quality matters more than speed on deal with US, says Badenoch

‘Rishi is focused on, as I am, the quality of the deal, not saying it’s going to be done by this deadline’

BRITAIN must focus on securing quality trade details, rather than rushing them through to meet arbitrary deadlines, Kemi Badenoch has said, as she accepts that an agreement with the United States will probably not happen while Joe Biden is in power.

The international trade minister, who visited Washington this week to meet politicians and businesses, said that the UK must “reset our conversations on trade”, and that Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, expected a renewed focus on “quality”, in a veiled jab at his predecessors.

“What’s really great is that Rishi is focused on, as I am, the quality of the deal, not saying it’s going to be done by Christmas or it’s going to be done by Diwali or it’s going to be done by this deadline,” Mrs Badenoch said.

“Deadlines are not helpful when you get to a tricky point in a negotiation. You just need to do it properly.”

The comments come days after George Eustice, the former environment secretary, said that Britain’s agreement with Australia – signed by Liz Truss – was a “failure”.

Mr Eustice told MPS in the House of Commons that the UK had “given away far too much for far too little in return” during talks.

Mrs Badenoch rejected that claim, saying: “It was very interesting hearing his comments, given that when he was in Cabinet, that’s not what he said.

“I know that he is also speaking from a position as a farmer, [and] farming is one of those areas where the sector is always concerned about losing out. One of the things that I need to do is to show farmers that we’ve got their backs, but these trade deals aren’t scary.”

Noting that there wasn’t even a mention of a free-trade agreement (FTA) when Mr Sunak and Mr Biden met at the G20 in Bali, Mrs Badenoch conceded that “between the Trump and Biden administration, the appetite for doing FTAS at all just pretty much disappeared”.

However, Mrs Badenoch does not believe that it is being done to spite the UK after leaving the EU.

“I think one of the things I’m most frustrated by is people thinking that it’s a particular snub to the UK. It’s not, it’s just this administration doesn’t want any FTAS,” she said.

Joe Biden, who turns 80 tomorrow, is likely to run for re-election in 2024, meaning that if he stays on in the White House for a full second term, there would likely be no trade deal for at least six years. Outlining her mission, Mrs Badenoch said: “A deal is about the quality and also making sure that it isn’t overly transactional, but one which is enhancing both countries.

“It’s not just we’ll get a bit of your lamb and then you can have a little bit of our beef. I think that’s a very oldfashioned way of looking at it.”