PRIME Minister Liz Truss has said a post-Brexit trade deal with the US could be years away despite her predecessor Boris Johnson championing it as a big Brexit bonus.
Truss, who has travelled to New York for the UN General Assembly in her first foreign trip as PM, told journalists on Tuesday there were no negotiations taking place at the moment and she didn't know when these would start.
The former foreign secretary said her priority was to "collectively deal with Russian aggression", according to Sky News.
Brexit supporters and Johnson insisted the 2016 Leave vote would open the way for a free trade agreement with the US, while President Donald Trump insisted in 2017 the UK was "at the front of the queue".
Truss, a former foreign and trade secretary, said: "There aren't currently any negotiations taking place with the US and I don't have an expectation that those are going to start in the short to medium term."
The PM has already been warned that any attempt to undo the Northern Ireland protocol - which governs trade rules between the EU, Great Britain, and Northern Ireland - could hurt chances of an agreement.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said it "would not create a conducive environment", while President Joe Biden said he felt "very strongly" that he did not want a change to the Irish accords resulting in a closed border.
The UK and EU remain at loggerheads over trading arrangements between Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government has drawn up legislation that could give ministers the power to unilaterally ditch parts of the agreement. The Bill tabled by Truss in the summer is expected to reach the Lords next month
Truss added she was focussed on striking up a trade deal with India. Johnson pledged in June to secure one by the end of the year.
Truss also wants a deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while her third target is to have the UK join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) grouping of nations that includes Australia, Canada and Japan.
"Those are our trade priorities," she said.
