President Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton outlines probable scenario for UK/US relations after Brexit

Wednesday 14 August, LONDON - President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton has said during a visit to London that Britain will be 'first in line' for a trade deal with the U.S. after Brexit.

Speaking following a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Mr Bolton said the United Kingdom and the United States could strike 'sector-by-sector' deals such as on car production and manufacturing, whilst fleshing out more complex deals in other areas later — a process he said his trade negotiators said was possible under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

'The main purpose of the visit really is to convey President Trump’s desire to see a successful exit from the European Union for the United Kingdom on October 31st, to offer to be of help in any way that we can and to express his hope we can have a fully comprehensive bilateral trade agreement with the United Kingdom as soon as possible,' he said in comments reported by the Press Association.

Anglophile President Trump, whose late mother was British, has long-expressed support for Brexit and for striking a 'cutting edge' trade deal after the United Kingdom leaves the EU.

The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also said that America will 'be ready on the doorstep, pen in hand', to sign a trade deal with the UK.

The phraseology — Britons tend to say 'queue' whereas Americans tend to say 'line' — raised alarm bells with Britons and it was later revealed that then-prime minister David Cameron had asked Mr Obama to claim that Britain would be at the 'back of the queue' to intimidate people into voting Remain.

Mr Bolton explained that British-American trade deals could be done 'sector by sector' — in other words in a 'modular fashion', saying: 'You could carve out some areas where it might be possible to reach a bilateral agreement very quickly, very straightforwardly.'

He added: 'The idea of doing it in pieces rather than waiting for the whole thing is not unprecedented. I think here we see the importance and urgency of doing as much as we can agree on as rapidly as possible because of the impending October 31st exit date.'

Editor's comment - Boris's strategy of setting an October 31 deadline for Brexit is paying dividends as it focuses everyone's mind on what is going to happen, and thereby concentrates the available manpower and resources in the most efficient manner. This is what has always been needed to make Brexit work. Go Boris!