Tory Party Conference: UK-US trade deal not 'be all and end all', says Truss

A US trade deal is not the “be all and end all” for the UK as there are countries around the world lining up to reach agreements, Liz Truss has said.

The Foreign Secretary highlighted the Pacific trade bloc, Israel, India – where she will take her next official visit – and the Gulf states as possible targets for trade deals.

Joe Biden’s election as president has pushed back the prospect of a transatlantic trade deal and Ms Truss refused to guarantee there would be one by the end of the decade.

“I don’t agree with you that that’s the be all and end all of trade,” she told a Conservative Party conference fringe event.

“My message to the Americans is ‘we’re ready when you are ready’ but there’s a whole world out there, there are lots of fast-growing parts of the world who want to do business with Britain and there’s a full pipeline of trade deals we are negotiating.”

Ms Truss, who was international trade secretary until September’s reshuffle, said there was a foreign policy need for the UK, US and allies to trade with developing countries to prevent them being drawn into the orbit of “authoritarian regimes”.

China has used its “belt and road” initiative to forge economic links with countries throughout the developing world, financing infrastructure projects to help boost its influence.