Oh yeah, and the current pandemic and its economic effects aren't helping the UK's brexit issues.
Instead they explicitly rejected that opportunity and carried onwards...
I think it could well be right that they're hoping for the (likely impossible) blink from the EU, but between that, the heavy political toll a US trade deal would require (it would have a big impact on the UK farming community+possibly other areas) and the expanding spat with China, it's really not shaping up to be a good period, economically speaking.