US trade deal possible by November

As party preparations get underway for the UK's departure from the EU tomorrow evening, talk in Westminster has turned to stage two of the Brexit negotiations. Although ministers and Tory MPs are keen to tell anyone who will listen that as of 11pm tomorrow the Conservatives will have achieved their election promise to 'get Brexit done', there is much to do when it comes to carving out the UK's new place in the world.

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Crucial to this is the trade relationships the UK will forge with its allies. Johnson is keen to conclude fast-track trade deals with the EU and the US – and negotiating objectives are expected to be published in the coming weeks. However, when it comes to the pace of the discussions, it became clear today that the two sets of talks will be striking in their differences. To the frustration of the UK side, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen previously warned it would be 'impossible' to reach a comprehensive trade deal by the end of 2020 as Johnson wishes.

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This lunchtime US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made clear that he was closely aligned with the UK when it came to time-keeping. Speaking alongside Dominic Raab at a Policy Exchange event, Pompeo was bullish on Brexit. He said he had told Boris Johnson he wanted to be here for Brexit day, but the Prime Minister said the 31st would be a bit busy so why didn’t he come the day before? He predicted that it would bring ‘enormous benefits’ to both the UK and the US. He said the UK had been sent to the front of the line for a trade deal and backed the idea that it could be done before the presidential election this November — a break-neck timetable. He was also keen to stress that he didn’t see a UK deal with the EU as precluding one with the US or vice-versa.

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On Coffee House, James*says*Raab and Pompeo were keen to stress more broadly how the UK and the US overall aims were the same, even if they disagreed on tactics as they do over Iran. But what was most striking about this event was how terrorism, which would have dominated the discussion even a few years ago, has fallen down the agenda to be replaced by the more traditional challenge posed by rival states. The US now regards China as the most significant strategic threat and wants its allies to come to the same conclusion