Johnson to Prioritise Trade Deal with Trump < >
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Conservative Party leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson is reportedly planning to meet with President Donald Trump soon after taking over as prime minister to arrange a limited, short-term trade deal with the U.S., the UK’s first post-Brexit trade deal.
It is believed that Mr Johnson wants to secure a limited agreement in “one area” of goods in time for the October 31st deadline — the date on which the Conservative pledged to take the UK out of the EU, with or without a deal.
He and President Trump would then spend the rest of the visit developing an outline of a wider trade deal.
An ally of Mr Johnson told The Times: “The key to the whole thing is the US. 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.”
“There is no question that the moment we leave on the 31st we should be in a position to get some kind of arrangement with the US,” the source added.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson did not confirm the report, telling the newspaper: “No plans have been made for anything other than winning this campaign and the immediate transition. That is where the focus is.”
The report comes as the European Union dismissed calls from Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay to scrap the Irish backstop, according to The Sun. A diplomatic note seen by the tabloid described the political deadlock between the UK envoy and Brussels, with one EU source saying: “Things are going nowhere. If that’s what Boris is going to come out and say, then we’re in real trouble.”