After unshackling from the EU earlier this year Britain is trying to tie up swift trade deals with major partners like the US and capitalise on its new freedom to strike bilateral deals rather than EU-wide ones. But talks hit a major stumbling block when both sides agreed to postpone negotiations until next spring due to ongoing concerns over the COVID-19 crisis.
As well as the US, the UK is also eyeing up trade deals with the EU, Japan, Australia and New Zealand in the coming months as it makes the most of its new found Brexit freedom.
Express.co.uk is asking you as US talks hit barrier, who should the UK prioritise a trade deal with?
Total trade between the UK and US has been valued at £232.7 billion in 2019, according to British statistics.
But while Britain has said it wants to strike a quick deal, it is not willing to set a target date for one because it does not want time pressure used against it.
Brexit POLL: As US talks hit barrier, who should UK prioritise trade deal with? (Image: GETTY )
However, with the November election fast approaching, the UK could find itself negotiating a future deal with Democrat Joe Biden instead of current US President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, the UK continues to work towards securing a trade deal with the EU before the transition period ends on December 31.
The tortuous talks, now focused on setting new trading terms from 2021 when London’s status-quo transition period after Brexit ends, quickly hit an impasse when they resumed earlier this year.
UK negotiators have called for a separate fisheries agreement despite EU chief Michel Barnier’s demands for fishing to be included in a single and overarching future relationship pact.
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Brexit talks between the US and UK have stalled (Image: PA )
A blow to US-UK trade negotiations comes as a separate deal with Japan hit a snag over the treatment of Stilton cheese.
Japanese officials flew to the UK last week to continue talks with the two sides looking to conclude an agreement by the end of August, but access for food and agricultural products is one of the outstanding issues.
A post-Brexit deal with Japan would build on the existing EU agreement, but the UK has reportedly pushed for better terms for blue cheese.
A report by Japanese media group Nikkei said the UK was seeking more preferential terms for blue cheeses, but Japan wanted to keep to the existing EU tariffs.
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Brexit trade deals with Japan have hit a snag over blue cheese (Image: PA)
Winston Peters, New Zealand’s deputy prime minister, said he was “very frustrated” with the progress made on a post-Brexit deal (Image: PA)
Under the EU deal, tariffs of almost 30 percent on hard cheeses such as cheddar will be phased out to zero by 2033 while for fresh, soft and blue-veined cheeses such as Stilton, tariffs would be reduced from up to 40 percent down to zero for an agreed quota.
Trade Secretary Liz Truss hopes a symbolic victory over Stilton will show the UK is able to secure a better deal than the one obtained by the EU.
Meanwhile, a second round of trade talks with New Zealand is planned for October after initial negotiations in July.
But this week New Zealand complained about the lack of progress in trade talks with the UK, claiming the Government was not “match fit” for the negotiations.
Brexit timeline revealed (Image: EXPRESS)
Winston Peters, New Zealand’s deputy prime minister, said he was “very frustrated” with the progress made on a post-Brexit deal.
He said the UK’s membership of the EU – which dealt with trade policy – meant it was not ready to engage properly in negotiations once it was able to pursue independent agreements.
Mr Peters said: ”We’ve had to look offshore for a long time and so we are seriously match fit when it comes to that, in a way that I don’t believe that the UK is, because the UK has been locked up in the EU all these years.”
“And in terms of their trading skills and finesse and their firepower – without being critical – they’ve never had an outing lately.
“They’ve never had a test, so to speak. It’s like coming into an Ashes contest when you haven’t played for 30 years – it’s the same thing in the UK when it comes to this.”
And Australia and the UK are aiming to strike a free trade deal in “record” time after trade minister Simon Birmingham said he hoped negotiations with the UK could be completed by the end of 2020.
Talks between Mr Birmingham and Ms Truss were launched via video in June.
