UK will be 'front of queue' for US trade deal after Brexit, says senior Trump aide

Brexit: Crowds attend Leave protests in Westminster
Sky News
Hatty Collier30 March 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The UK will be "at the top of the queue" for a trade deal with the US after Brexit, one of Donald Trump's most senior aides has said.

John Bolton, the president's national security adviser, said Mr Trump was "eager for the will of the British people to be carried out, and he is even more eager to do a trade deal".

The veteran US politician also attempted to assuage widely-held concerns over the potential damage from a no-deal Brexit, highlighting how Britain would be able to boost transatlantic trade.

"People who worry about the United Kingdom crashing out of the European Union - they are going to crash right into the United States," Mr Bolton told Sky News.

"We are standing here waiting to make a trade deal with a UK independent of the EU."

In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London

1/20

Mr Trump has predicted that trade between the US and UK will increase "very substantially" after Britain's departure from the EU.

Speaking earlier this month, he said that Brexit had been negotiated "badly" but he would like to see the "whole situation work out".

"We are talking with them about trade and we can do a very big trade deal with the UK," he said.

Former US president Barack Obama drew the ire of Brexiteers in the run-up to the 2016 referendum by saying Britain would be "at the back of the queue" to negotiate a trade deal it left the EU.

Brexit: Crowds attend Leave protests in Westminster

Mr Bolton told Sky News: "This isn't the Obama administration; Britain will be at the top of the queue for us."

The prospect of a wide-ranging post-Brexit free trade deal with the US has not been universally welcomed in Britain.

Some critics have warned that Washington could demand unfettered access to the UK for American farmers to UK consumers, potentially damaging British producers.

There have also been warnings over food standards, although they have been vociferously rejected by US figures including Mr Trump's ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in