Tuesday 04 June 2019 10:14 am

Donald Trump: UK can strike ‘very substantial’ trade deal with US after Brexit

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 04: British Prime Minister Theresa May hosts a business roundtable event with U.S President Donald Trump at St. James’s Palace, during the second day of his State Visit on June 4, 2019 in London, England. President Trump’s three-day state visit began with lunch with the Queen, followed by a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, whilst today he will attend business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Tim Ireland – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Donald Trump has told the UK it would be able to strike a “very substantial” trade deal with the US once it leaves the EU.

The US president is in the UK for a three-day state visit, which began yesterday. Trump has already attended a state banquet with the royal family. This morning he met Theresa May, who will officially resign as Prime Minister on Friday, along with other UK and US business leaders. They are due to hold a press conference later.

At the meeting, Trump said: “I think we’ll have a very very substantial trade deal, it’ll be a very fair deal, and I think it’s something we both want to do.”

His words were echoed by the Prime Minister, who said there were “huge opportunities” for Britain and the US to work together after Brexit.

“It is a great partnership but I think a partnership we can take even further,” she said, adding: “Of course that is with a good bilateral trade deal.”

There has been significant scrutiny over a potential US-UK trade deal, with some politicians expressing concern that it could result in the UK accepting lower food standards and open the door for the US to bid for contracts with the NHS.

Trump’s visit to the UK has already been mired in controversy, after the US leader branded Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, as a “stone cold loser”.

He was responding to Khan’s comments that the UK “should not roll out the red carpet” for Trump because of his political views.

“There are so many things about President Donald Trump’s policies that are the antithesis of our values in London, but also our values as a country,” Khan said.