LONDON: US President Donald Trump has agreed to start immediate trade talks with Britain with the goal of preserving current arrangements when it leaves the European Union, the prime minister's office said Saturday.
The "high-level talks", agreed during British Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to the White House on Friday, risk antagonising EU leaders who have warned London cannot start negotiations with other countries until it exits the bloc.
The talks, which also include joint working groups, are aimed at laying the groundwork for a new deal that can be signed as soon as possible after Brexit.
"The first step towards achieving this will be a new Trade Negotiation Agreement (TNA) which will see high-level talks between the two nations beginning immediately," a spokesman for May's Downing Street office said.
The agreement came at a working lunch with Trump in Washington, where May was the first foreign leader to meet the new US president following his inauguration on January 20.
Over a meal of braised beef shortribs, Trump said he wanted their relationship to be even closer than that of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan during the Cold War, British officials revealed.
May was keen to secure an early committment to the UK-US "special relationship" from Trump, who has alarmed America's allies across the Atlantic with his criticism of NATO and the EU itself.
She was particularly intent on winning agreement for early talks on a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States, amid concerns at home of the economic impact of withdrawing from Europe's single market.
Downing Street said Trump had pledged to ensure that the trade agreements Britain currently has with the US through its EU membership would continue after it leaves.
"This is the first step leading to a future trade deal with the US which could provide huge benefits to our economic muscle and will give businesses additional certainty and confidence," May said.
The talks will also look at removing non-tariff barriers blocking British exports of food and agriculture to the US, and the mutual recognition of professional qualifications to make it easier for people in both countries to do business.
Bilateral trade is currently worth more than 150 billion ($188 billion, 176 billion euros) and the United States is the single biggest source of inward investment in Britain.
May has promised to start the two-year process of leaving the EU by the end of March, but her government has already had informal trade discussions with India, Australia and New Zealand.
The European Commission warned London this week against any third party trade negotiations before Brexit.
"If they talk about this, that's fine, but they cannot start negotiating until they have left," trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said.
She added: "Of course it is perfectly natural that a non-EU UK will try to reach out to the world."
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