The government’s approach prevents it from capitalizing on post-Brexit trade opportunities, such as a trade deal with the United States, according to an economics professor at the University of Sussex. Speaking to Express.co.uk., Professor Michael Gasiorek, an international trade expert, said the UK had “done itself no favor on the international stage” since Brexit.

Professor Gasiorek said: “We are a smaller player on the world stage than before.

“It doesn’t mean that countries don’t want to make deals with the UK, but it does mean the UK has less influence over this economic environment.

“I don’t think the current government has done any service internationally in terms of behavior.”

Speaking on the problems in Northern Ireland, he said: “They need to be solved, and the UK is, I think, quite adamant in how they want to solve them.

“And it’s not going well on the international stage, especially with the United States.”

Professor Gasiorek added: “In the beginning, before Biden came to power, the Johnson government and Liz Truss certainly presented a US-UK free trade agreement as the top priority.

“But it has moved very, very low on the agenda, not to the UK side, but because America has made it clear that it is not interested at this point.”

In her role as Minister of Foreign Affairs – and previously Secretary of State for International Trade – Liz Truss played a central role in negotiating a trade deal with the UK.

READ MORE: Boris warned of trade deals as Tories’ credibility shattered

But even though the likelihood of a trade deal with the United States is, in his view, unlikely, he said the United Kingdom should always strive to cooperate.

He said: “Currently, I think there is no immediate prospect of a free trade agreement in the next few years with America.

“And that’s because America is concentrating elsewhere.

“This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t cooperate with America, for example on the issue of steel tariffs, or for example with regard to climate trade.

“So he could try to solve this problem, but I think our Secretary of State for Commerce approached this issue by threatening the Americans.”

It came after International Trade Secretary Anne Marie Trevelyan visited Washington in December to urge her counterparts to lift U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum that former President Donald Trump imposed in 2018.

The International Trade Secretary threatened the United States with retaliatory tariffs on American goods, saying, “We have always been clear that resolving this dispute is the right thing to do.

“This will benefit workers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic and eliminate the need for the UK to levy retaliatory duties on US products.”

However, just last week the UK signed a free trade deal with Australia which the government said would unlock £ 10.4 billion in additional trade.

A spokesperson for the Department for International Trade said: ‘We have already secured over £ 760 billion in trade deals with 70 countries plus the EU and 2022 will be a five star year for UK trade as we launch new negotiations with India, Mexico, Canada and the Gulf; and securing membership in the CPTPP.

“We are strengthening our trade and investment ties with the United States and have made good progress in ending the ban on British lamb, ending the Boeing-Airbus tariff dispute and cooperating even more closely in vital areas such as technology. “