Theresa May and Donald Trump to hold talks on trade deal that cuts tariffs and allows workers to move between the US and UK… Theresa May and Donald Trump will this week hold talks over a US-UK trade deal that slashes tariffs and makes it easier for hundreds of thousands of workers to move between the two countries. The Prime Minister will on Friday become the first foreign leader to hold talks with the new President in the White House following assurances by Mr Trump’s team that he wants to do a major free trade deal with Britain that can be announced in the weeks after Brexit. One option understood to be being discussed in Whitehall is to agree to cut – or even drop – tariffs on items Britain and America already export to one another. – Daily Telegraph …as Brussels warns Theresa May that negotiations with Trump must wait… EU leaders have warned Theresa May that Britain remains barred from negotiating new trade deals as she prepares to visit Washington to open talks with Donald Trump on an “early” agreement. Mrs May said that she would speak to the new president about Britain’s “future trading relationship” when she visited the White House on Friday. Downing Street said later that the two leaders would “discuss how we can deepen our already huge economic and commercial relationship to the benefit of both of our countries, including our shared ambition to sign a UK-US trade deal once the UK has left the EU”. – The Times (£) > Francis Hoar on BrexitCentral: Why the UK is legally free to negotiate future trade agreements before Brexit …while Australia is set to open preparatory trade talks with UK this week Australia will kick off preparatory talks for a post-Brexit trade deal with the U.K. this week, Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison said today. “As Brexit takes shape, the Australian government will work to maintain and improve the close investment relationship between Australia and the U.K.,” Morrison said in a statement ahead of his visit to Europe this week. “Discussions during this visit will begin laying the foundations for Australia to strike new beneficial trade and investment arrangements with the U.K. that benefit our businesses, exporters and citizens,” the Treasurer continued. – Politico What you need to be on the look out for in the Article 50 judgment on Tuesday The Supreme Court will give its judgment at 9:30am Tuesday morning and the hand down of the summary is expected to take a grand total of around five minutes. The court has advised those interested in following along live that the building itself is expected to be very crowded, and those who do not feel the need to be there in person may prefer to watch the livestream of the judgment. Alternatively, both the summary and the full judgment will be published on the court’s website shortly after it is read out. – City A.M. London’s top compliance staff to save City’s status post-Brexit City A.M. has been told London’s vibrant financial ecosystem, including an army of red tape warriors, could act as a lure for those thinking of shifting overseas….Regulators have been churning out new rules at a remarkable pace ever since the financial crisis, and watchdogs have been clamping down with increasing vigour. This has left compliance staff in high demand. Figures recently released by recruitment consultant Robert Walters forecast that salaries for mid-tier compliance staff will rise by six per cent in 2017. – City A.M. Copy the Swiss model, Schäuble advises Britain Britain should look to Switzerland when negotiating Brexit and free movement restrictions with the EU, Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister has urged Theresa May. In an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung yesterday, one of Europe’s most influential and veteran politicians advised the prime minister to consider the Swiss model. “Britons should take as an example how cleverly Switzerland has linked national sovereignty and close co-operation with the European Union,” he told the Swiss newspaper. Switzerland has access to the European single market through a series of bilateral agreements and has restrictions on free movement migration, although its relationship with the EU remains troubled. – The Times (£) Theresa May promises ‘active’ industrial strategy The prime minister is to unveil a new, more interventionist, industrial strategy on Monday, designed to boost the post-Brexit UK economy. The government will be “stepping up to a new, active role,” Mrs May said. She will launch the new strategy at her first regional cabinet meeting, to be held in the north-west of England. Business leaders welcomed the plan which will focus on “sector deals” in areas such as life sciences and low emission vehicles. A green paper will set out ways the government can provide support to businesses by addressing regulatory barriers, agreeing trade deals and helping to establish institutions that encourage innovation and skills development. Smart energy, robotics, artificial intelligence and 5G mobile network technology are some of the areas that could receive support through a new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, according to Downing Street. The fund is part of £4.7bn in additional funding for research and development first announced in November. – BBC News My plan to reboot British industry – Theresa May writing in The i EU won’t punish UK for Brexit, asserts Brussels think-tank, as BMW pledges ‘business as usual’ in Britain The message comes days after Theresa May laid out Britain’s 12-point Brexit plan, which seeks a trade deal with the EU rather than access to the single market. Outgoing French President Francois Hollande last year urged Brussels to “get tough” with Britain, a threat that was since echoed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker and European Council president Donald Tusk… “There is no appetite across the Euro 27 for a punitive deal,” said Marco Incerti, of the influential Centre for European Policy Studies think tank in Brussels… Sources at BMW said the firm remained “optimistic” of a solution that would allow it to continue to have access to the European workforce and export without tariffs. – Daily Express John McDonnell says Labour will blame Brexit rather than Jeremy Corbyn if they lose two crucial by-elections… Labour’s John McDonnell admitted that the party would try blame Brexit rather than their hapless leader if they lose two crucial by-elections next month. Hitting back at claims Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership would be “toast” if Labour lost the crunch showdowns, the Shadow Chancellor said Britain’s historic referendum result had ripped up all the rules. Speaking to the BBC, he said: “Since Brexit you can’t calculate by-election results on what’s gone on in the past so what we’re going to do is fight for every vote, and that’s what we’re going to do.” Defeats in currently Labour seats of Stoke-on-Trent Central and Copeland on February 23 would be unprecedented in the history of by-elections, which almost never see Opposition parties lose seats during a Government’s term in office. Polls are too close to call in Copeland, Cumbria and Ukip boss Paul Nuttall is set to target Stoke that he branded “the capital of Brexit”. – The Sun …as Jeremy Corbyn continues refusing to say if he will force his MPs to back Brexit Labour faced accusations that it was being “cannibalised” by Ukip and the Liberal Democrats, as Jeremy Corbyn again refused to say whether he will force his MPs to back Brexit. Amid threats of a rebellion, Mr Corbyn said he would “ask” Labour MPs to respect the result of the EU referendum and back the triggering of Article 50 to begin the formal Brexit process. Prime Minister Theresa May could be forced to seek parliamentary approval for the formal step needed to start Brexit negotiations if the Government loses its Supreme Court appeal next week. – Metro SNP MPs will never support Article 50, vows Scotland’s Brexit minister Scotland’s Brexit minister has said there are no circumstances in which SNP MPs would back invoking Article 50 which would start the two-year negotiation process of leaving the European Union. Michael Russell made his position clear after it emerged last week Jeremy Corbyn was expected to impose a three-line whip on his MPs to back any legislation in the Commons to begin the formal exit. A Supreme Court ruling on whether Parliament should have a say is to be published tomorrow following a legal battle between campaigners and the UK Government, which did not want the the matter to go to a Commons vote. Russell set out the stance when asked yesterday if SNP representatives in the House of Commons were certain to oppose Article 50. – The National Andrew Lilico: Why CANZUK is Britain’s best hope after Brexit Britain is leaving the EU, its main geopolitical partnership for the past 40 years. Within the EU, we faced down the Warsaw Pact, absorbed the post-dictatorship states of Iberia and Greece, and the post-Communist states of the East. We also played our part in liberalising world trade and capital flows and setting up today’s global regulatory architectures. Now we’re moving on. So should we go it alone? Or should we seek some new geopolitical partnership? On the latter front, probably the two main partnerships proposed are the “Anglosphere” and “CANZUK”. The “Anglosphere” would be a loose alliance of English-speaking countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean and possibly Ireland. “CANZUK”, by contrast, would be a smaller and tighter-knit affair, in which Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK formed a new and deep geopolitical partnership. – Andrew Lilico on CapX The Times: Free Trade First The practical obstacles even to a bilateral deal are daunting. Formal talks with the US are not allowed under EU rules until after Brexit. Congress requires up to six months’ notice of a planned trade pact from the White House, and took four years to ratify even the quickest deal America has ever struck (with South Korea). There is talk, even so, of a UK-US deal being signed within 90 days of Brexit. The can-do approach being taken in Downing Street and by team Trump is refreshing, but both sides must be clear what is being done. The purpose of any trade deal should be to boost prosperity, not make narrow political points. Whatever details Mrs May discusses with Mr Trump, she should therefore keep in mind the broad goal of making the case for free trade over protectionism. On Russia and healthcare, the new president has shown that he can listen and adapt his views accordingly. The world must hope that the same is true of trade. – The Times editorial (£) Roger Bootle: Theresa May’s Brexit speech got it right – but left many gaps If a low-tax and loose regulatory regime (sometimes referred to as “Singapore on steroids”) would bring such competitive benefits, then why should we not do it anyway? Are we going to pledge not to reduce taxes and regulations if they give us a “good deal”? This would surely transform it into a very bad deal.Mrs May’s speech did not betray any worry about the outlook for UK consumers. Yet plenty of business leaders are concerned about this. Indeed, those economists who still nurse pessimistic forecasts cling to the idea that UK consumers will yet be overcome with fear and, accordingly, their spending will falter and the UK economy will weaken. – Roger Bootle for the Daily Telegraph Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Europe learns to like ‘hard Brexit’ and a good British ally The Brexit drama has taken an unexpected twist. Britain’s strategy of full withdrawal from the single market and from the EU institutions has been remarkably well-received. Contrary to fears in some quarters in Britain, the pursuit of a ‘clean and hard’ Brexit has if anything helped to clear the air, greeted with a degree of relief by political and business leaders in Europe. What has changed the mood – apart from the passage of time – is the parallel pledge by Britain’s leaders to stand beside Europe as a close strategic and military ally, playing its full part in upholding a rules-based global architecture. – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for the Daily Telegraph Henry Zeffman: Stumbling blocks to a quick deal A quick deal with the US is as much about perception as it is about trade. It would help Theresa May to show that Britain still has mercantile clout post-Brexit, and Donald Trump to show that his dealmaking prowess is as applicable in the White House as in the boardroom at Trump Tower. There are legal constraints on both parties. Britain is not allowed to begin formal trade negotiations with any country until it has completed the process of leaving the EU. Though Brussels officials are relatively relaxed about Britain conducting “scoping” missions with other countries, they will not allow Whitehall to begin detailed discussions until the Article 50 process is complete. Furthermore, as of June the UK had no trade negotiating expertise as trade negotiations had been subcontracted to Brussels. Liam Fox, the trade secretary, has been hiring but Britain’s team may not have the wherewithal to consider an American deal until it has completed negotiations with Europe. – Henry Zeffman for The Times (£) Kelvin Mackenzie: The US Election means Brexit Britain holds Trump cards while European Union has none Isn’t it amazing how luck plays a role in politics? When we voted for Brexit, I was genuinely fearful how it might turn out, with the whole of Europe wanting to stick it to us. Then along came The Donald. And suddenly it all looks so different. A trade deal with the United States is now within our grasp. That would be of massive commercial value. And I would ignore the threats from Brussels (mainly from some clapped-out drunk from Luxembourg) that talks could only begin after we have exited. Go hell for leather. What are they going to do? Throw us out? We should go hell for leather for every deal. That would put the EU absolutely on the back foot. The reality is that the EU has no cards to play. It needs us for defence or else Russia could simply march through Eastern Europe. It needs us for our money. It sells loads to us while we sell much less to them, which is my argument about starting our own car industry. They need the City to finance their businesses. Where else are they going to go? New York? – Kelvin Mackenzie for The Sun Brexit comment in brief Conservatives are using the referendum to ditch Europe and our entire post-war political consensus – Lib Dem Alistair Carmichael MP for The Independent Why SMEs are so optimistic in the face of Brexit – Peter Alderson for City A.M. Britain must look beyond the economic giants to reaffirm its place as a great trading nation – City A.M. Australian overtures are welcome – but post-Brexit trade deals will not be plain sailing – Julian Harris in City A.M. Brexit news in brief Deloitte helped set up Brexit department at time of leaked memo – The Guardian Just one Scottish MP will vote in favour of triggering Article 50 – The Herald