Donald Trump says he is working on a 'big and exciting' trade deal with the UK
2 min read
Donald Trump has said his administration is working on a “very big and exciting” post-Brexit trade deal with the UK.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has been in the US this week laying the groundwork for a potential agreement, although the UK cannot formally begin negotiations while still a member of the EU.
Mr Trump tweeted this morning about the prospects of a deal and criticised Brussels for what he claimed was a “protectionist” attitude to the US.
Yesterday he described Dr Fox's visit to America as the start of a "new chapter" in US-UK trade.
Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable played down the significance of a potential deal.
He told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: "We’ve learnt in the last few months to take anything President Trump says with a pinch of salt.
“It’s certainly possible that there could post-Brexit be a trade deal with the US - it’s one of the few that might actually happen, I think unlike China India which are much more difficult… It could be significant; it’s not remotely comparable to the potential losses if we withdraw from the European single market and the customs union but it would provide potentially some benefits…
"I’m not denigrating the idea of free trade with the US but it doesn’t offset the potential losses we will have if we withdraw through the European Union in a hard Brexit."
BMW BOOST
There was another boost for the British economy with news that German car giant BMW will build the new electric Mini model at its Cowley plant in Oxford.
Business Secretary Greg Clark hailed the announcement, saying: “[This is] a landmark decision that is a vote of confidence in the workforce and in the determination of our industrial strategy to make Britain the go-to place in the world for the next generation of vehicles.”
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