Joe Biden says trade deals won’t be his priority in snub to Boris Johnson’s Brexit Britain

The 78-year-old Democrat politician told the New York Times: “I’m not going to enter any new trade agreement with anybody until we have made major investments here at home and in our workers and in education.”

He added: “I want to make sure we’re going to fight like hell by investing in America first.”

Downing Street had hoped that the new administration could be more receptive to signing a post-Brexit trade deal acceptable to both sides of the Atlantic when he enters office in January.

But his comments are likely to pour cold water on the likelihood of a deal being agreed after the transition period ends.

In September, before the election, Biden issued a warning to Johnson’s government.

He said: “We can’t allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit.

“Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period.”