Farewell to the US-UK trade deal. That’s the news from Liz Truss’s trip to the UN assembly in New York. The British prime minister has told hacks on the flight over that the UK will not strike an agreement with America for many years. The former international trade secretary suggested that talks were unlikely to even start in the medium term: “There isn’t currently any negotiation taking place with the US and I don’t have an expectation that those are going to start in the short to medium term.” The comments come ahead of her first proper meeting with Joe Biden since becoming prime minister. …

So, why is Truss now playing down the idea of a prized trade deal? Ultimately it’s down to reasons largely out of her control. While Donald Trump frequently talked up the idea of a US-UK trade deal, his successor Joe Biden is more cool on the idea — playing down the chances of one previously. What’s more, the UK is on course to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership. This group includes Australia, Canada and Japan and the US could join later down the line — if so, this is viewed as the easiest way for the UK to increase trade with the US. Second, the protocol. Truss has made fixing the Northern Ireland protocol a key priority. Her plan to do this — unilaterally changing parts of the protocol through domestic legislation — has led to criticism in Brussels and Washington. One of the things US politicians can threaten in response to the UK pressing ahead with its plans is that it will hurt the prospect of a US-UK trade deal. By publicly acknowledging such an agreement is not on the horizon, it makes it harder to do so.