Angela Merkel convinced Donald Trump that negotiating a US-EU trade deal would be simpler than he thought

Britain has been pushed behind the European Union in the queue to strike a free-trade deal with the United States, officials in Washington have said.

President Trump has softened his opposition to negotiating with the bloc as a whole after attempts by his officials to open talks with individual European nations were rebuffed.

During a private conversation last month, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, convinced Mr Trump that talks on a US-EU deal would be simpler than he thought, sources close to both sides of the discussion told The Times.

Boris Johnson with Paul Ryan, the Republican House speaker, who hinted that the TTIP trade deal with the EU may be revived FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/EPA

This led to a “realisation” in the Trump administration that a trade deal with the EU — allowing the tariff-free exchange of goods and services — was more important to US interests than a