Boris Johnson aims to strike US trade deal as first act after becoming PM in bid to mend bridges with Trump
BORIS Johnson will jet to the US as soon as he becomes PM to cut a trade deal with Donald Trump, it was claimed today. The favourite for No10 wants to have a deal ready to go in time for Brexit – to prove Britain can thrive outside the EU. And he is keen to […]
BORIS Johnson will jet to the US as soon as he becomes PM to cut a trade deal with Donald Trump, it was claimed today.
The favourite for No10 wants to have a deal ready to go in time for Brexit – to prove Britain can thrive outside the EU.
And he is keen to mend bridges with President Trump after the row over leaked messages from the British ambassador.
Mr Johnson plans to visit America in August or September and hold his first official meeting with Mr Trump, The Times reported.
An ally said: “If we get a trade deal with America we will be very quickly in the market for other deals. It encourages others to realise that we mean business.”
Putting together a full trade deal with the US could take years.
But Mr Johnson’s team believe they can thrash out a limited agreement which would take effect as soon as we leave the EU on October 31.
A deal covering some specific parts of the economy would be a statement of intent towards the rest of the world.
Trade Secretary Liam Fox, an ally of Jeremy Hunt, warned that formal negotiations with Washington can’t start until we have left the EU.
He told the BBC: “We’ve already had six meetings of our trade and investment working group with the US.
“We can’t negotiate anything with the US until we’ve left the European Union.
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“Even if you could negotiate them quickly you wouldn’t necessarily be able to ratify them.”
Today Mr Johnson called for action to tackle Britain’s spiralling mental health crisis.
He promised tax breaks to firms which offer support to their workers.
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