Trump makes trade deal with UK second-order priority, officials say

Donald Trump has made a trade deal with the UK a second-order priority, sources have told the Guardian, hampering British attempts to meet their mid-May deadline.

- Kiran Stacey Eleni Courea

US officials have decided to split their negotiations with more than a dozen other countries into three phases, with the UK being placed in either phase two or three, according to people briefed on the talks.

A trade deal with the US would be the biggest prize for British negotiators, who made strides toward separate agreements with the EU and India yesterday. But UK officials fear that a deal with the EU, which they hope to agree at a summit on 19 May, could make it more difficult to negotiate with a Trump administration that repeatedly criticises European trade policies.

One person with knowledge of the US talks said: "The US has now decided to negotiate its trade deals in three phases. The government has been told it will not be in phase one - though that leaves the door open to be in either phase two or three."

A business department spokesperson said: "The US is an indispensable ally and negotiations on an economic prosperity deal that strengthens our existing trading relationship continue. We've been clear that a trade war is not in anyone's interests and we will continue to take a calm and steady approach to talks."

The White House did not respond to a request to comment.

British officials first presented a draft deal to their US counterparts weeks ago, before the president's major tariff announcement. They hoped to agree a deal in time to grant the UK an exemption but, when that failed, shifted their focus to a self-imposed deadline of 19 May.