Trump ‘makes trade deal with UK second-order priority’ in blow to ministers

Exclusive: US officials have split negotiations with countries into three phases, sources say, with South Korea taking priority

Donald Trump has made a trade deal with the UK a second-order priority, sources have told the Guardian, hampering British attempts to meet their mid-May deadline.

US officials have decided to split their negotiations with more than a dozen other countries into three phases, with the UK being placed in either phase two or three, according to people who have been briefed on the talks.