Liz Truss buries hopes of a quick trade deal with the US

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Prime Minister Truss: Hope given up for now

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NEIL HALL / EPO

With Brexit, Great Britain should find new global strength – also thanks to new free trade agreements.

In the meantime, however, the British government has temporarily buried any hope of a deal with the United States: "There are currently no negotiations with the United States, and I do not expect them to begin in the short to medium term," said the new Prime Minister Liz Truss in front of reporters on the flight to New York for the UN General Assembly.

British government circles said that talks are not expected to start for years.

According to commentators, Truss' statements are intended to prevent her first meeting with US President Joe Biden from being viewed as a failure.

Truss has repeatedly announced that it would unilaterally change or rescind an agreement with the EU on special Brexit rules for Northern Ireland.

Biden, who has Irish roots, has repeatedly criticized this plan and threatened that if it did, the free trade agreement would be a long way off.

Truss tried to downplay the importance of a deal with the US.

Trade agreements with India and Arab countries and accession to the Pacific Trade Agreement (CPTTP) have priority, said the head of government.

Brexit advocates had campaigned for leaving the EU on the grounds that Great Britain would then be able to conclude a trade agreement directly with the USA much more easily.

Brexit and the Northern Ireland dispute are also likely to be the focus of the bilateral meetings between the new Prime Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

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