A trade deal between the US and UK could happen “very quickly”, President Donald Trump said at a joint press conference with Sir Keir Starmer.
Speaking during the prime minister’s visit to the White House, Trump envisaged “a real trade deal” which could see the UK avoid the kind of tariffs the president has been threatening on some of the US’s other trading partners.
The trip had been seen as a key moment in Sir Keir’s premiership as he sought to influence Trump’s decisions on topics including Ukraine, as well as trade.
Sir Keir kicked off his White House visit by presenting Trump with a letter from King Charles inviting him to an “unprecedented” second state visit to the UK.
Receiving the letter in front of cameras in the Oval Office, Trump said it would be a “great honour” and described the King as “a wonderful man”.
Sir Keir said the offer of a second state visit was “truly historic”. Traditionally US presidents have only been given one state visit.
Having confirmed he would be accepting the invite, Trump, along with Sir Keir took questions from reporters for 30 minutes. (BBC)