UK and US close to deal on cutting tariffs, says White House trade chief

The UK and the US are hoping to reach an agreement on reducing trade tariffs, according to Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative in Donald Trump’s outgoing administration. Lighthizer said he was in talks with the UK’s international trade secretary, Liz Truss, which could remove hefty tariffs imposed by the US on goods including Scotch whisky. “I’m hopeful we can get some kind of an agreement out you know, we don’t have a lot of time left,” Lighthizer said. His comments come just days after the UK dropped EU tariffs on plane manufacturer Boeing, setting it at odds with the rest of the bloc, in the hope of securing a quick post-Brexit trade deal with Washington. The US and EU have been locked in a long-running trade dispute over subsidies to Airbus and the US planemaker. <br/>