[misnome]

Source? Everything I can find says that it is still rising, including several newspaper articles late 2016, but the only data I can find runs up to 2015, including the automatic google-chart:

https://www.google.co.uk/publicdata/explore?ds=ds22a34krhq5p...

Which has UK increasing, and Germany and the EU decreasing.

> and a US-UK trade deal is likely very soon.

Again, source for this, other than magical wishful-thinking? Considering

a) It's still illegal for the UK to make trade deals until it's out of the EU b) "Fast" is entirely based on a statement from Trump. Trump's statements are entirely meaningless because he always says exactly what the person wants to hear, regardless of complexities or whether it's actually achievable (allowing the press to trumpet the statements as fact). Trade deals are never fast because it's never a zero-sum game.

[blibble]

it will be all but signed, ready to go on the first day

there's very little the EU can do to stop it

[phatfish]

The UK should read the fine print on such a deal very carefully. Trump has no interest in giving anyone except himself a good deal.

Of course there may not be much room for negotiation given the UK has been successfully burning bridges with the other EU members.

I think they call it "out of the frying pan into the fire".

[misnome]

So; I was going to wait until Monday, but have just read a whole load of statements by Trump that the first day literally means the first day.

So where is the UK trade deal?