The UK is willing to walk away from trade talks with both the US and EU if the government does not agree with what is being offered, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has told Sky News.

Today, ministers are setting out what they want - and don't want - in a US-UK trade deal, with talks between the two sides to begin this month.

A 184-page document published by the Department for International Trade said a trade deal with the US could boost UK GDP in the long run by between 0.7% to 0.16% (£1.6bn to £3.4bn).

Government analysis also states a US-UK agreement will boost trade between the countries by £15.3bn and increase UK workers' wages by £1.8bn.

The document confirmed the NHS will "not be on the table" during trade talks with America, while the government won't be compromising on environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.


"We're not going to allow drugs to cost more in the NHS and we're not going to sell out our food safety and animal welfare standards."



International Trade Sec @trussliz on the government's attempts to negotiate a trade deal with the U.S.#KayBurley pic.twitter.com/qSTTJ4aKKW — Kay Burley (@KayBurley) March 2, 2020

Monday will also see the first round of trade talks between the UK and the EU's negotiating teams in Brussels, following Britain's exit from the bloc in January and entry into an 11-month Brexit transition period.

The government has been warned it faces a "big choice" between following EU or US rules as it conducts the parallel trade negotiations.

But Ms Truss raised the prospect of the UK abandoning talks with either or both the EU and US should the terms of a trade deal be too stringent.

She told Sky News: "We want a deal with the EU on Canada-style terms, if we have to trade with the EU on Australia-style terms, we will.

"Likewise with the US we want to get a deal as soon as possible, but we're certainly not going to sell out the NHS to get that deal.

"That's a very clear red line. We're not going to allow drugs to cost more on the NHS and we're not going to sell out our food safety and animal welfare standards.

"We will walk away in both cases if it is not a deal that suits the UK because one of the key reasons people voted to leave the EU was to have control over their own rules and regulations.

"We won't be told what are rules and regulations are by the EU and we won't be told by the US what they are either."

Image: The PM says the UK will trade 'Scottish smoked salmon for Stetson hats'

Australia does not have an existing free trade deal with the EU and references to an "Australia-style" deal with Brussels have been described within the bloc as "code" for the UK leaving the Brexit transition period without a deal.

Ms Truss revealed trade talks with the US will begin at the end of this month.

"We have already had a lot of preliminary talks with the US, so we know roughly where the areas of agreement are," she added.

Negotiations will alternate between the UK and US, with the talks being overseen by Crawford Falconer, the Department for International Trade's chief negotiator.

Government analysis also being published on Monday says the conclusion of a deal with America will see the UK economy enjoy a £3.4bn boost due to a £15.3bn increase in trade between the two countries.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We have the best negotiators in the business and of course, we're going to drive a hard bargain to boost British industry.

"Trading Scottish smoked salmon for Stetson hats, we will deliver lower prices and more choice for our shoppers.

"Most importantly, this transatlantic trade deal will reflect the unique closeness of our two great nations."

Manufacturers of ceramics, cars and food and drink will be among the biggest winners from securing tariff-free access to the US market, according to the government.

Architects and lawyers are also expected to benefit, while it is claimed Scotland, the North East and the Midlands will benefit the most from a free-trade agreement.

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Trade expert David Henig, the UK director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, warned the government would face a difficult decision as it conducts parallel trade negotiations with the US and EU.

He told Sky News: "Both the EU and US would like us to adopt their food safety rules - we can't adopt both of them as the EU doesn't allow certain US food in.

"We're going to have to make a choice there between either those two, or perhaps we'll adopt our own and go with that.

"That's a big choice. We also have to choose in various regulatory areas whether we go with an EU approach or a US approach.

"The more we go with one against the other, the more trade barriers are in place."

Mr Henig added that a US trade deal would come "nowhere close" to making up for potential losses from a weaker EU trading relationship than the UK currently holds.

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Following the publication of the US trade deal negotiating objectives, ministers will "shortly" set out negotiating objectives for agreements with Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

The government aims for 80% of total UK external trade to be covered by free trade agreements by 2022.

Business groups welcomed the opening of trade talks with the US.

But Barry Gardiner MP, shadow secretary of state for international trade, reiterated Labour's fears a US trade deal could harm the NHS and lead to a weakening of UK food standards.

He said: "This is a government that has sought, at every opportunity, to resist efforts to lock in our high standards and to ensure robust protections for our NHS.

"Their false promises are meaningless - they have said they won't undercut our food standards while briefing that chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef are perfectly acceptable.

"That is why there must be a full and proper scrutiny process for this and all trade agreements."

The Brexit transition period, which will end on 31 December this year, maintains the status quo of EU membership for the UK.