(Reuters) – British Trade Minister Liz Truss will meet top U.S. officials in Washington next week to assess progress on reaching a free trade agreement between the two countries, the Financial Times reported on.ft.com/2XmcZ3I on Saturday.

Two sources told the newspaper Truss was expected to be in Washington from this weekend while a third source told the FT that she was expected to meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Monday and Tuesday.

After leaving the European Union in January, Britain is keen to stand alone and has started a series of trade negotiations with other countries, with the United States seen as a priority.

Truss has previously said there was no timetable set for Britain’s trade talks with the United States, adding that UK negotiators had made “very good progress” despite conducting talks via video conference due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“We’re not going to rush into a deal and there is no deadline. We will be tough in pressing our interests,” Truss told a parliamentary committee in June.

The Financial Times reported late in July that the British government had abandoned hopes of clinching a U.S. free trade deal ahead of the American presidential election, with officials blaming the pandemic for slow progress.

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