Dominic Raab’s hopes of a good US trade deal are ‘delusional’, a top economist said today.
Larry Summers, former US treasury secretary and ex-director of the National Economic Council in president Barack Obama’s administration, said Britain has “no leverage” in any trade negotiations and should not hope to be prioritised in a trade deal with the US.
It comes as Raab seeks to “fire up” the UK’s trade relationship with North America.
Mr Summers told the BBC: “I’m not sure what Britain wants from the United States that it can plausibly imagine the United States will give.
“If Britain thinks that the American financial regulators who have great difficulty coming together on anything are going to come together to give greater permissions and less regulation of UK firms, I would call that belief close to delusional.”
He added: “Look at it from America’s point of view: Britain has much less to give than Europe as a whole did, therefore less reason for the United States to make concessions. You make more concessions dealing with a wealthy man than you do dealing with a poor man.
“Second, Britain has no leverage. Britain is desperate. Britain has nothing else. It needs an agreement very soon. When you have a desperate partner, that’s when you strike the hardest bargain. The last thing you do is quit a job before you look for your new one.
“In the same way, establishing absolutely that, as a matter of sacred principle, you’re leaving Europe has to be the worst way to give you leverage with any new potential partners.”
He said it is “close to inconceivable” that the UK would be able to increase its trade with the US enough to make up for lost trade with the EU.
The Tory Foreign Secretary today embarks on his second major overseas trip since being appointed.
He starts in Toronto today before moving on to Washington on Wednesday and Mexico City on Thursday.
