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If Prime Minister Theresa May ditches some EU rules on farming and food processing, “there is a much greater opportunity for trade between the U.K. and U.S.,” according to Ted McKinney, undersecretary for trade at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“We hope that the U.K. will look for its own food standards, environmental safety protocols,” McKinney said in an interview on the fringes of a farming conference in Oxford on Thursday. “We find the EU a very difficult place to do business and so we hope that as part of Brexit, the reset button can at least be considered.”
May wants a trade deal with the U.S. and has discussed the matter with President Donald Trump. Working groups have begun to map out the shape of the agreement, which both sides say they would like to conclude quickly after Brexit. Britain is prevented from conducting formal trade talks with any country until it leaves the European Union in March 2019. [...]