US president makes clear trade deal with UK still far off
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson conceded Wednesday that a post-Brexit trade deal with the US was not imminent as he revealed that decades-long US ban on the import of British lamb would be lifted
It is believed that Biden chose to telephone Johnson ahead of other leaders in Europe as Downing Street said the two leaders pledged to work closely together
Johnson reiterated his previous congratulatory statements on Biden's election win and also welcomed Kamala Harris for making history as the first female Vice-President in the US
Demonstrators dressed as chickens, a cow and President Donald Trump gathered on Saturday in London to protest a proposed US-UK trade deal that activists say will lower food safety standards
"We can't allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit," Biden wrote on Twitter
Britain is the closest US ally but the two countries face big hurdles in working out a new trade agreement, including a dispute over Britain's plan to impose a unilateral digital tax
"I'm quite optimistic. I think the prime minister and the president have a very good relationship," Mnuchin told an audience at the Chatham House think tank in London
Trump said a bilateral deal with post-Brexit Britain could be "three to four, five times" bigger than current trade
British justice minister believed trade deal won't be enough on its own, dampening May's enthusiasm
UK has comparative advantage in whisky, and the US in bourbon