UK trade team lands in US as hopes rise of reaching deal in coming days

A team of senior British trade negotiators has landed in Washington as talks over a deal between the two countries gather pace.

- Kiran Stacey Lisa O'Carroll

Officials from the business and trade department are in the US for much of this week attempting to get an agreement signed before the planned UK-EU summit on 19 May.

Downing Street did not deny reports that the deal could be signed as early as this week, although government sources warned that the recent announcement by Donald Trump of tariffs on the film industry had proved a significant setback.

One person briefed on the talks said: "We have a senior team on the ground now, and it may be that they are able to agree something this week. But the reality is the Trump administration keeps shifting the goalposts, as you saw with this week's announcement on film tariffs."

Another said Trump's threat of 100% tariffs on films "produced in foreign lands", which could have a major impact on Britain's successful film industry, had "gone down very badly in Downing Street".

UK officials say they are targeting tariff relief on a narrow range of sectors in order to get a deal agreed before they begin formal negotiations with the EU over a separate European agreement. A draft deal handed to the Americans week ago would have reduced tariffs on British exports of steel, aluminium and cars, in return for a lower rate of the digital services tax, which is paid by a handful of large US technology companies.