The relationship with the US for the UK post-Brexit has become crucial, with hopes of a trade deal high among those in the Government.Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said this week that he is still confident of a UK-US trade deal.He said: “Every time I go out to Washington I see politicians from all sides of Congress and I am confident that the relationship will be in good shape.”I am confident there is an excellent free trade deal to be done, there has been a lot of progress so far.”The UK-US relationship, regardless of the individuals, has got such a bedrock and history of shared values, economic ties, security cooperation interests.”I am very confident we will have an even stronger relationship going forward.
“I’m not worried about the relationship.”
Feeling in Number 10 wasn’t so confident during Theresa May’s tenure, as highlighted by John Bolton, former security adviser to Mr Trump.
He told Channel 4 news earlier this year that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was able to recover the relationship after US President Donald Trump had criticised Mrs May for her handling of Brexit.
Mr Bolton claimed Mr Johnson “played Trump like a fiddle” to win his approval.
He said: “There was a sea change in the personal relationship that existed between Donald Trump and Theresa May when Boris Johnson came in.
“The reason this is positive for Britain is that Trump can’t distinguish between his personal relationships with a counterpart leader and the actual state of the national relationships between two countries.
“I’ve known Boris before he was Prime Minister. I think he’s got a good sense of humour and I had the sense that behind those twinkling eyes he was playing Trump like a fiddle too.
“I do think that Johnson’s determination to effect Brexit was something that the President appreciated. I don’t think he had confidence in the May Government’s negotiating strategy.”
While the Government hoped this change of mood would lead to a trade deal, it appears Joe Biden could be the new president as he takes the lead in Georgia and now Pennsylvania.
Counting for the US election is into day four now, as the President vows to challenge results in key swing states having made false claims about voter fraud.
US politics expert from Oxford University, Dr Nigel Bowles, told Express.co.uk this week that if Mr Johnson wants a UK-US trade deal, he will have to make “painful trade-offs”.
He said: “I think that the EU and US have all the cards. All the leverage is with them.
“Boris Johnson has already got an agreement from 2019 with the EU, and they will hold him to it and the US will hold them to it.
“Whether Trump or Biden is President, the House of Representatives won’t pass a trade deal with the UK if the EU-UK understanding is overriden.
“I think there is a trade deal to be struck, but there will have to be painful trade-offs on environmental standards, food safety standards. There will be losers.”
READ MORE: Johnson has to make ‘painful concessions’ for US trade deal
“If Trump is President in January next year, Nancy Pelosi will still be speaker of the House of Representatives, and I do not believe a trade deal could pass through here as things stand.
“If Boris Johnson wants a trade deal with the US, the agreement he forged with the EU in late 2019 will have to be observed.
“His current approach will not work, and everyone around Boris Johnson knows that.”
According to reports earlier this year, Mr Johnson is “desperate” for Mr Trump to lose.
In July, one minister told The Times it would be “easier” for the UK if Mr Biden becomes US President.
They said: “It would make things much easier if Trump doesn’t win reelection.
“Boris was trying to distance himself from Trump.”
