In November 2017, in oral evidence to the International Trade Select Committee, the International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said that the Government was seeking transitional adoption of existing EU trade agreements to provide “a technical replication of the conditions that exist today, so that there is no disruption at the point at which we leave the European Union.”
In oral evidence to the International Trade Select Committee on 11 July 2018, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said that the UK Government had “an agreement in principle with all those we have had discussions with” in terms of continuing trade with third countries on the same basis as in their existing agreements with the EU.
Now we find out that should there be no agreement, and the UK has to fall back onto WTO rules, agree schedules with each country, that one of the first to object to the proposed schedules is the USA, closely followed by Australia and New Zealand. If you read the official reports you will find that Fox didn't even know how many deals existed and how many countries he would have to negotiate with, which deals were mixed deals, and which were not.
Like Davis who believed he could do deals with individual EU countries, the promises have proved to be untrue. You cannot roll over existing WTO rules held by the EU to become simply UK rules, anymore that existing trading partnerships held by the EU on behalf of the UK can simply be rolled over.