Britain’s former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has given rise to new hopes that the UK could secure a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States.
Speaking to a Commons Select Committee this morning, Lord Frost said that while Joe Biden’s administration isn’t interested in any new free trade deals, things could change after the Presidential election.
He said Britain’s hope of reaching its target of having 80% of trade covered by free trade agreements rests on striking a deal with the US.
Lord Frost said it “doesn’t look like the current US administration is interested in such deals”, but that isn’t true for the whole American political system.
He warned: “The politics in America could change, and things could get easier.”
Focusing on 2025, he said President Trump’s return to the White House would change the dynamics of Britain’s ultimate trade prize.
He said: “Of course who knows for sure how these things are going to play out, but what I have heard from US Republicans at least is that we shouldn’t assume a President Trump’s general scepticism about free trade would necessarily be an insuperable obstacle to a US deal.
“Of course, I can’t speak for them, I can only say what I think our policy should be and I think we should be keen to do such a deal and be ready to talk about it.”
Asked if he thinks a new deal will become more possible should Joe Biden fail to be reelected this November, Lord Frost also suggested that a Biden re-election could equally change US trade policy to become more favourable to a UK deal.
He said: “The Biden administration hasn’t been particularly interested in bilateral free-trade agreements, but second terms can be different to first terms. Indeed they very often are on things like this, so I wouldn’t write everything off.”
He also warned that Britain has occasionally looked “a bit reticent” about securing such a trade deal.
The former Cabinet minister under Boris Johnson also lifted the lid on the UK’s hopes for a free trade deal with India, suggesting it was the EU’s fault that previous negotiations with the major Asian economy had failed.
Asked which of the seven FTAs that are currently being negotiated will be most important for Britain – out of India, GCC, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Switzerland and South Korea – Lord Frost said: “We’d all love to get an India trade deal.
“When I was doing EU trade, back when I was a civil servant, we were trying to get an EU-India deal and it fell because EU member states had too many divergent interests.
“I think it’s easier to have a purely bilateral trade deal as we’re now negotiating.”
He revealed that the UK is now “quite close” to agreeing its major new FTA with India, and “good progress has been made” making it now “in reach”.
Lord Frost warned that all trade deals will become more difficult if the UK agreed to any ‘dynamic alignment’ of standards with the EU, as it would mean giving away sovereignty to the bloc.
