Former Ambassador C. Boyden Gray commented Thursday on the prospect of reaching a “quick” bilateral trade deal between Britain and the U.S.

On Britain’s ability to negotiate unilaterally before exiting the E.U. :

It doesn’t make much sense because technically, legally the U.K. is not even allowed to start negotiations until after they’ve left the EU[.]

On the likely length of the trade negotiation process:

[I]t can’t happen for quite a while because you can’t negotiate formally and it takes a long time for negotiation to begin with.

On the benefits of a trade deal:

Any reduction in trade barriers is positive.