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Trump said on Monday the agreement by which the United Kingdom
will leave the European Union may make trade between Washington
and London more difficult - handing ammunition to Prime Minister
Theresa May's critics at home who want to block the Brexit deal.
May's spokesman said there had already been "positive and
productive" discussions on an ambitious trade deal through joint
working groups and cited public consultations on both sides of
the Atlantic as signs of progress.
Asked whether May planned to hold a bilateral meeting with Trump
at a G20 summit later this week, the spokesman said there were
no such plans and May's diary for the event was fixed.
"It's not something we've requested," he said. "We've met with
the president on a number of occasions in recent months."
With May facing a difficult battle to get parliament to approve
her deal, Trump's words struck at the heart of the government's
key argument for the current Brexit accord: that it would allow
Britain to strike new global trade deals without abruptly
shutting off access to EU markets.
Alongside the spokesman's words, the government published a
"press rebuttal" blog expanding on those arguments and setting
out Britain's plans to pursue a range of post-Brexit trade deals
and play an active role on the world stage.
"After we leave the EU in March next year, we will take up our
independent seat at the (World Trade Organisation) where we will
play an active role in negotiations and be strong advocates for
the rules-based global trading system," the blog said.
(Reporting by William James, editing by Stephen Addison)
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