The US administration expects that it will succeed in a year to complete talks with the UK on a new trade deal, said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking at the Royal Institute of International Relations in London.

According to him, he is quite optimistic, Reuters reported.

“I’m quite optimistic. I think the prime minister and the president have a very good relationship,” Mnuchin told an audience at the Chatham House think tank in London. “We’re focused on trying to get this done this year because we think it’s important to both of us,” he said.

The minister said that the free trade deal between the UK and the US will significantly increase trade between the two countries.

He expressed hope that the parties could simultaneously work on a wide range of topics to expedite talks. The minister added that to complete talks with the US, the UK will need to settle a number of issues in relations with the EU after Brexit. However, Mnuchin does not believe that because of this, the conclusion of the US-UK deal will take longer.

This week Mnuchin held several meetings in London and Davos with British counterpart minister Sajid Javid. According to him, one of the topics of Saturday’s meeting in the British capital was the tax on the activities of digital industry companies. The digital tax, which the UK plans to introduce in April, will primarily affect US technology giants, including Amazon, Google and Facebook.