UK will not strike free trade deal with US for years, Liz Truss admits
20 September 2022, 09:29
Liz Truss has admitted that the UK will not strike a post-Brexit free trade deal with the US for a number of years, as she flew to New York ahead of a meeting with Joe Biden.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Ms Truss told reporters "there aren't any negotiations taking place with the US" as she made her first foreign trip as Prime Minister.
She instead stressed her trade priority is striking agreements with India and the Gulf states, and joining a trade pact with nations including Australia and Japan.
"There aren't currently any negotiations taking place with the US and I don't have an expectation that those are going to start in the short to medium term," she said.
Officials did not deny that Ms Truss, a former Brexit opponent who has switched to becoming a supporter, was effectively conceding it will be years before talks with the White House resume.
She said the deals with Delhi and other allies are the UK's "trade priorities".
Read more: Nancy Pelosi threatens to block US/UK trade deal over Northern Ireland Protocol plans
Minister: 'Still hope' for US trade deal but no progress expected soon
Ms Truss said her priorities were to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade agreement bringing together Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and six other countries.
She also said she wanted to reach an agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council of Arab states.
She made the comments as she touched down in New York for her first overseas visit since she took over from Boris Johnson in Downing Street.
She will make her debut speech to the UN as British leader on Wednesday, just two days after President Biden and hundreds of other world leaders travelled to the UK for the historic funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Mr Biden has stalled on trade negotiations and, vocally proud of his Irish heritage, has raised concerns about the impact of Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol on the peace process.
Ms Truss' comments on the US trade deal will be seen as a huge disappointment for many Brexit supporters, who believed leaving the European Union would open the door to a series of lucrative global trade deals.
Meanwhile, Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said there is "obviously still hope" of a deal between the UK and US.
"I don't think we've failed by not having done it as of yet," she told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast.
"The PM has tried to manage the expectations on this by saying we can't expect it this week - that's not the purpose of this week - or even in the coming few months, and it does take a long time to negotiate big trade deals."
Ms Truss will also hold talks with Emmanuel Macron, their first since she sparked a row when she said the “jury is out” on whether President Macron is “friend or foe”.
She stressed the need for a "constructive relationship" with the French President, combatting Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and unauthorised migrant crossings of the Channel in small boats.
"Of course that means working together on the issue of migration. There are a number of other issues we need to work together on, whether it's energy security, whether it's other issues relating to our relationship with the EU - but most importantly, it's ensuring that Putin does not succeed in Ukraine," she said.
The Prime Minister was pressed on Channel crossings, with provisional figures suggesting more than 29,700 have made the crossing this year - exceeding last year's total of 28,526.
"That is one of the issues that we need to work with France in a constructive way on," Ms Truss said.
