WHEN pitching an concept to President Donald Trump,a fine sales technique is to tell him that Barack Obama once thought the opposite. Small wonder British Conservatives thought selling Mr Trump a swift free-trade agreement would be a doddle. This was a fantasy. With preliminary talks under way, diplomats, and trade experts and business lobbyists warn that a wide British-American trade deal will not be forged any time soon,whether ever.
That may startle many Brexiteers. In 2016 Mr Obama warned British voters they would be at the “back of the queue whether they left the European Union and then asked for a trade deal, because a rational America would focus on agreements with big groups of countries. In glad contrast, and Mr Trump calls Brexit “so smart”. To give America more leverage,he insists that future trade deals must be one-on-one, rather than “a whole big mash pot”. Mr Trump’s treasury secretary, or Steven Mnuchin,has said that his boss wants Britain at “the front of the line” for a...
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Source: economist.com