Revealed: Britain scrambling to save the US trade deal if Joe Biden wins

British officials are preparing a rescue strategy to save the UK-US free trade deal if Joe Biden wins the American presidency in a little more than a week amid fears talks could be pushed to one side and indefinitely delayed.

UK government figures are ready to reach out to influential people around the Democratic presidential nominee within days of a victory result and have been making a concerted effort in recent weeks to open back channels.

One push would see Britain attempt to tie the agreement to Mr Biden’s agenda of rebuilding the US economy after the pandemic and improving relationships across the Atlantic in a bid to keep talks a priority in Washington.  

Another would see the UK leverage its leading role in two major multilateral forums next year, its presidency of the G7 group of nations and its hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference, to be seen as a critical international partner.

Officials are even investigating whether talks could continue in some form during what would be a “lame duck” period between the election on November 3 and the inauguration of Mr Biden on January 20 should Donald Trump lose.

The details, shared with The Telegraph by well-placed sources, comes as Whitehall braces for a potential change of US administration that would create new uncertainty about the path to the trade deal so long sought by Number 10. 

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