There's little chance of free trade deal with America before the next election, says Hunt

JEREMY HUNT said today that a US-UK free trade deal would not be agreed “imminently” — dampening the likelihood that it could happen before the next general election.

- Nicholas Cecil

The Chancellor made the admission after President Joe Biden met Rishi Sunak in Belfast yesterday for talks but they are not believed to have discussed a trans-Atlantic trade pact.

Opening up the prospect of striking a quick US-UK deal was one of the arguments made by Brexiteers ahead of the 2016 referendum, to offset the economic harm caused by quitting Britain’s biggest trading partner, the EU.

But nearly seven years after the out vote, there is no sign of such an agreement with America. Asked about it, Mr Hunt told Bloomberg News today: “We would welcome discussions when the time is right but this is not something that we think is imminent. Nor are we particularly worried if the time is not right, we will wait until the time is right.”

But Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Sarah Olney said: “The US trade deal is yet another broken Brexit promise.” As trade with the EU is being hit, leading experts say workers on average earnings in Britain will be around £1,300 worse off a year due to Brexit, compared to what would have happened if the UK had stayed in the European bloc.