Donald Trump has told Boris Johnson that he wants a post-Brexit trade deal between Britain and the US ‘within a year’.
Speaking after their meeting at the G7 summit in France, the prime minister revealed that the US president was “very gung-ho” about slashing tariffs and other barriers between the two countries.
Johnson is keen on getting a new, multi-billion pound transatlantic trade deal as the UK looks to new markets as it leaves the European Union.
He warned Trump that there remain many barriers for UK firms in America, and admitted after their one-on-one meeting that it would be “tight” to meet his timetable of securing it as early as next June or July.
“There’s an opportunity to do a great free trade deal with the United States. The president is very gung-ho about that and so am I,” Johnson told ITV News.
“I don’t think people realise quite how protectionist sometimes the US market can be, but what I’m saying to Donald is, you know, this is a big opportunity for both of us but we need to some movement and we need to see movement from the U.S. side.
“They want to do it within a year, I’d love to do it within a year, but that’s a very fast timetable.”
HuffPost UK revealed this summer that senior Cabinet ministers were adamant that a swift, over-arching deal between London and Washington was impossible given the need to protect the NHS and British farmers.
Separate, sector-specific agreements are seen as more plausible and on a trip to the UK recently, Trump aide John Bolton talked of doing a series of smaller deals in the short term.
The UK would rather have a ‘comprehensive’ deal and wait for the right agreement rather than a quick one.
The PM told the BBC that critics were wrong to suggest that it would take many years to hammer out the detail of a comprehensive trade agreement.
“Years and years is an exaggeration, but to do it all within a year is going to be tight,” he said.
“The Americans are very ambitious to get this done as fast as possible. They really want results within a year I suppose by next June or July. We’re keen to go as fast as we can.
“But we want this to be a really big thorough going comprehensive trade deal. I’m going to be honest with you. I’ve watched America’s trade negotiations over many many years. These are tough guys.”