Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks during an interview with Axel Threlfall at a Reuters Newsmaker event on "The challenging state of British politics" in London, Britain, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday that a UK-U.S. trade deal would be very difficult to agree, saying protectionist sentiment worldwide was making trade agreements harder to negotiate.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath on a United States-UK trade deal, I think it is going to be very difficult,” Blair told a Reuters Newsmaker event.

“In today’s world they (trade deals) are even more difficult because there is a lot of protectionist sentiment.”