London, UK - In an interview on Friday, White House Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned that the UK government was choosing "Brussels over America" despite Brexit.

During an interview with the Financial Times, Greer said the UK's closeness to Brussels posed "a problem" to Britain's goal of expanding a trade deal struck with President Donald Trump's administration last year.

Greer's comments come as UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is eager to build on his predecessor Keir Starmer's efforts to forge closer post-Brexit cooperation with the European Union.

Asked if the UK was using the "freedom" afforded by Britain's departure from the EU at the start of the decade, Greer told The FT: "No, they're not."

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"Based on my conversations with the UK, where I say, 'Hey, you're free of the EU. Why don't you liberalize a little bit, accept goods made to American standards, accept agricultural goods made to American standards?'"

"They say, 'Well, we have to wait and see what the EU says about it.' You know – that is a problem for us and that's challenging."

During a visit to London this week, French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris and London "remain open to discussing everything, including advancing the UK reset with the European Union."

Burnham told journalists Wednesday that since Brexit, "people here are fed up with the [lack of] vision, people see that we need to work closer together."

He went on to tell parliament this week that Brexit had contributed to sluggish UK economic growth.

Trump and Starmer announced a trade deal in May 2025 that saw Washington lower tariffs on British luxury cars and on steel and aluminum.

Britain has also reached a deal to avoid US tariffs on medicines by agreeing to pay higher prices for certain drugs.