Maybe they will change the A in Nafta from American to Atlantic!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...donald-trumps/

The major proviso of course is that the UK cannot even open negotiations with the US until it has fully exited the EU. Will Trump's administration be even still in place by the time that happens? Going by some of the reports this week, the UK could well still be in the EU in November 2020 when the next Presidential election is underway.

Wolves always go for the weakest in the herd

Indeed.

Yippee, more zero hour contracts on the way and general erosion of employment rights maybe even American health insurance is on the way, yippee yippee let's spit roast the Brits..

By the time the opportunity (I use the word lightly) comes around Trump will be fighting for reelection.

Do you really think the UK and USA won't talk to each other because the EU says they can't ?

They won't sign a trade deal until the UK has left, but that is the only influence the EU will have on such a deal.

Do you really think America and Britain will be told what to do by mandarins in the EU?

The behaviour from the EU of late, demanding that we cough up £50bn as part of our exit agreement is a piss take. We are going to be shafted by the EU come what may, so its better we tell them to jog on if they think they can stop us from sorting out FTA for when we leave, while still members of the EU. There is no explicit rule to say we can't sort FTA that only become active after we have exited completely.

The EU are scared of a British success on exit, so much so they are trying to put as strain on any future deal between us and any third country we want to deal with. If Britain can strike trade deals in a number of months as opposed to a number of years as part of the EU, then that makes their argument much less compelling.

Frankly we should hard brexit, as I would love to see them corrupt bastards in Brussels find the £12bn or so they would lose in funding each year. The EU are increasingly becoming an autocratic setup with no democratic accountability, why would we trust anything they say?

They can't organise a piss up in a brewery. When voters say they don't want more Europe, they try and force more Europe upon them. When they say they want democratic accountibility, they take away further sovereignty from member nations. They really do think, less means more......primarily the reason why the UK is leaving the EU.

Interesting piece on the Sunday Politics with the Australian High Commissioner on free trade deals and how positive they are to start negotiations with us ASAP.

He pointed out Australia agreed a comprehensive free trade deal with the US in just 15 months. They have been trying for a free trade deal with the EU for years and it's completely failed - the EU for example won't allow Aussie food and agricultural products as it might adversely affect inefficient European subsidy junkie farmers.

That is because basically the EU is a protectionist racket!

Isn't it great how we can just slide over the important words, as if they don't matter! The key words being, as soon as possible, when 'as soon as possible' might be years away!

Well the EU won't let us until we leave. Thats the only barrier!

What exactly would we be exporting to Australia?

(apart from the obvious joke)

We knew that was the case before we voted.

They can talk informally as much as they like but they cannot begin formal negotiations until the UK has left the EU (and a US - UK trade deal would be a very intense process for negotiation).

It would be a bit like the England football manager sitting down for formal talks with the Spanish FA and without the permission of the Football Association while he is still their manager. It would be forbidden under the rules but also considered very bad form.

Indeed it protects us from cheap Labour economies, protects access to a large european domestic market, and gets us better trade deals, than we can get with our own, weaker, bargaining power.

I miss Australian Cheddar , but its a small gain for worse access to a market thats vastly bigger. is like losing a fiver, and finding 20p down the sofa.

And anyone who thinks a protectionist Trump is going to give anyone a decent trade deal , should really be buying rare , historic, 19 bob notes.

Well for all his faults at least the Americans now have a leader who talks about putting his own country first, pity our politicians don't appear to feel the same.

Like him or not we need his business, and all deals have to be mutually beneficial, it's to our advantage that he has a genuine affection for the UK, as his mother was Scottish, he has British blood in him so we will be at the front of the line not the back.

We are in a stronger negotiating position with the EU if they know we have other countries lining up to do business with us. Not that anti Brexit politicians want to hear anything that makes leaving sound anything other than a disaster.

Work is already under way.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/j...and-investment

Yes hardly anything in the UK is from a cheap Labour economy like China, Bangladesh, or closer to home Turkey.

With whom we enjoy a large trade deficit. So obviously when we leave the EU they will enact trade barriers to cut their nose off to spite their face.

Yes as part of the EU the UK enjoys trade deals with the likes of Moldova population 2.9 million with a average wage of about £200 a month.
But not with eight of the UK's top ten major non EU export markets, many large population high income nations.

The UK wants to make a trade deals with the EU and Australia.

Trump sells himself as a maker of great deals, he will want to make deals with other high income nations that do not undercut USA workers. Especially if he wants to end deals with likes of Mexico.

The key words are "once the UK leaves the EU". This is where Britain could run into serious difficulties in the short to medium term : what if it's still a member of the EU in five or six years' time? There are lots of delays and difficulties and setbacks that could happen in the meantime.

Once article 50 is triggered in March its 2 years max before the UK leaves deal or no deal. Unless the UK and every single EU member nation agrees to an extension. Which is not likely as the Conservatives will probably not want to enter the 2020 general election having failed to leave the EU, and its difficult to get all the EU nations to agree.

The best situation for the Conservatives is just before the 2020 general election leave the EU and simultaneously sign a lot of trade deals, so gaining votes through national pride and optimism.

Trump's way of making "deal" is just to screw the other side into submission. As the much smaller economy, how much influence do you think the UK would have on any "negotiations" with his administration?

if US healthcare providers want access to NHS contracts then would we be in a position to refuse? More to the point would you trust Liam Fox to refuse?

Free trade with the USA will result in the UK being flooded with huge surpluses of cheap US produce which will ruin our own industries and existing trading arrangements. Be warned.

This. Will Trump even be President by 2020? Hes already 70 now, he may not be in good health, even if we take away all the other reasons he might not remain President for 4 years!

What you really need to focus on is; what will PENCE make of a Brexit trade deal?

Some examples of this surplus of cheap US products would be nice.

Trump, whom I can't stand, campaigned on the idea that any new free trade deals would have to benefit the U.S. first and foremost. The UK may get a free trade deal eventually (if it wants it badly enough), but it certainly won't be on the UK's terms.