Liz Truss vows trade deals outside EU will be ready 'within months' of Brexit date
INTERNATIONAL Trade Secretary Liz Truss pledged to sign trade deals with non-EU countries "within months" from leaving the European Union as she claimed foreign officials are very "keen" to finally have Britain back at the negotiating table.
Brexit: Trade deals could be done in ‘months’ says Truss
Speaking to TalkRADIO, the Tory frontbencher said Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the US are the number one priority for the post-Brexit trade deals to be struck by the UK. Ms Truss claimed American and Australian officials are very "keen" to negotiate with Britain after 45 years of EU tariffs. She told Julia Hartley-Brewer: “It’s going extremely well. When I go overseas people are so keen to have Britain at the table.
“We haven’t struck a trade deal for 45 years, they really want to get in on the action.
“They know there are fantastic British products that they could get that they’re not getting at the moment.
“At the moment we don’t sell British lamb for example to the American market.
“That’s a massive opportunity. They know they could get our products cheaper without the tariffs being in place.”
She added: “We are leaving on the 31st of October, deal or no deal, and we want to get negotiating as soon as possible.
READ MORE: Brexiteer comedian launches hilarious attack on Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit
“I’m working on the negotiating objectives with those key countries. Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the US are my first priorities.
“And I believe we can do a deal with those countries within months.”
Australian High Commissioner George Brandis told Sky News on Tuesday that his country is ready to begin trade negotiations with the UK as soon as Brexit is resolved.
Hinting at a key condition that could help spark a huge accord between the UK and Australia, he said: “There are different visa categories and different visa restrictions that it would be good to see relaxed.”
Mr Brandis claimed the relationship between Australia and the UK could be enhanced for the benefit of both economies and hinted at the possibility of wide access to a free trade market.
Brexit: British produce exporter reveals ‘solution’ to trade impact
He said: “The thing about free trade agreements is that you start from the proposition that the wider the access the better.
“But there are always domestic issues that create a series of qualifications or caveats to that aspiration.
“That’s why we will have a negotiation which will commence as soon as Brexit occurs.
“We would like to see on both sides, not just us to you but you to us as well, the widest market access possible.
“At the moment you are our eighth largest trading partner.
DON'T MISS:
What scares you most – no deal Brexit or Corbyn government? VOTE HERE [POLL]
Boris Johnson will go back to the Queen and ask to prorogue Parliament [INSIGHT]
Irish business leader admits Dublin 'beyond nervous' for no deal odds [VIDEO]
“Given the close complementarities between the two economies, I believe we can do better than that to the benefit of both sides.”
Asked about changes to the immigration arrangements between the UK and Australia, Mr Brandis replied: “I don’t want to use the phrase open borders because it evokes lots of things that are inaccurate.
“But free trade agreements are about four things: goods, services, capital and people.
“The freedom of movement of people is always an element in free trade agreements, so I myself think it would be terrific if, for example, young British people could spend a good part of their 20s living in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane and Australians could come to London or other places in the United Kingdom.
“There are different visa categories and different visa restrictions that it would be good to see relaxed.”