BIARRITZ: (Left to right) Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, European Council President Donald Tusk, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, US President Donald Trump, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend a working session on "International Economy and Trade" in Biarritz, south-west France yesterday on the second day of the annual G7 Summit.-AFP

BIARRITZ, France:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday said he and President Donald
Trump were "gung-ho" about a post-Brexit trade deal but cautioned the
United States would be tough negotiators and that he would not rush talks.

Trump promised a
big trade deal for Britain after it leaves the European Union, which he said
had been a drag on Britain's ability to cut a good deal. Facing a delicate task
of assuaging European allies while not angering Trump at a G7 summit in France,
Johnson said there were huge opportunities for British businesses in the US
market, but hinted at differences between the two sides on the scope of a deal.

Moreover, he
added, Washington would have to relax some "protectionist" policies.
"They want to do it within a year, I'd love to do it within a year, but
that's a very fast timetable," he told Sky News.

Earlier, before
the two leaders began a trade-focused bilateral meeting, Trump said he was
looking forward to discussing big numbers with Johnson. "We're going to do
a very big trade deal - bigger than we've ever had with the UK," Trump
said. "At some point, they won't have the obstacle of - they won't have
the anchor around their ankle, because that's what they had."

Brexit
uncertainty

With less than
three months until an Oct. 31 deadline, it is still unclear, how, when or even
whether Britain will leave the EU. The uncertainty around Brexit, the United
Kingdom's most significant political and economic post-war move, has left
allies and investors aghast and roiled markets.

Britain has yet
to agree any kind of exit deal to smooth the divorce between the world's fifth
largest economy and its biggest trading partner, raising fears of shortages and
widespread disruption. However, Johnson said meetings with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron last week had helped his
case for a better exit deal. There was a "dawning realization" in
Brussels that Britain's objections to the existing deal were implacable.

"I think
it's going to be touch and go but the important thing is to get ready to come
out without a deal," he told the BBC. Opponents fear Brexit will make
Britain poorer and divide the West as it grapples with both Trump's unconventional
presidency.

Supporters
acknowledge the divorce might bring short-term instability, but say in the
longer term it will allow the United Kingdom to thrive if cut free from what
they cast as a doomed attempt to forge European unity. Johnson also met
European Council head Donald Tusk, who on Saturday said Johnson would go down
as "Mr No-Deal" if he took Britain out of the EU without a withdrawal
agreement.

A British
official said Johnson told Tusk that Britain would be leaving the EU on Oct. 31
whatever the circumstances. Sky News reported that Johnson would tell Tusk
Britain would only pay 9 billion pounds ($11 billion) instead of the 39 billion
pound liability agreed by former prime minister Theresa May under a no-deal
Brexit.

Asked about the
report, Johnson said: "If we come out without an agreement it is certainly
true that the 39 billion is no longer, strictly speaking, owed."

Trade differences

Trump and Johnson
were in the French seaside resort of Biarritz for a summit of G7 industrialized
nations where sharp differences have emerged over trade protectionism and an
array of issues including Iran and North Korea. On his arrival on Saturday,
Johnson said of the escalating trade war that he was "very worried"
about the growth of protectionism. Those who "supported tariffs risked
incurring the blame for the downturn in the global economy", he said.

Sitting opposite
Trump yesterday, Johnson praised the performance of the US economy before
adding: "But just to register a faint, sheep-like note of our view on the
trade war - we are in favor of trade peace on the whole." London's
preference is for a comprehensive free trade deal with the United States post
Brexit, UK government officials say, while some US officials including Trump's national
security adviser John Bolton have talked of a sector-by-sector approach. As
Johnson said London and Washington would do a "fantastic deal", Trump
interrupted to say: "lots of fantastic mini-deals, we're talking about
many different deals but we're having a good time." - Reuters