Boris Johnson as not only failed to deliverer Brexit by midnight tonight his deal also ‘precludes’ US-UK trade agreement.
Johnson, who today marks this 100th day in office, previously claimed he would rather “be dead in a ditch” than extend Brexit beyond October 31, before requesting a fresh delay from the EU.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn took aim at the prime minister, saying: “Boris Johnson has spent months promising we’d leave the EU today. The failure to do so is his and his alone.”
To add insult to injury Donald Trump said Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would prevent the U.K. from striking a trade agreement with the U.S.,
Trump waded into the U.K.’s election debate, appearing on the radio show LBC hosted by a Nigel Farage to criticise Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, Trump also criticised the popular leader of the opposition Labour Party which for many people as been seen as an endorsement for Jeremy Corbyn.
Speaking to Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage on LBC radio, the U.S. president said: “To be honest with you, this deal, under certain aspects of the deal, you can’t do it. You can’t trade. We can’t make a trade deal with the U.K.”
Trump added that under the Brexit deal agreed between Boris Johnson’s government and the EU, “under certain ways we’re precluded.” He said that was “completely ridiculous.”
“We want to do trade with U.K. and they want to do trade with us,” Trump said, suggesting that trade between the two countries “could be four to five times higher.”
“You’re being held back by the European Union,” the U.S. president said of the U.K. “They’re very tough people to deal with.”
You can’t trade
“We want to do trade with UK and they want to do trade with us. To be honest with you this deal, under certain aspects of this deal, you can’t trade, we can’t make a trade deal with the UK… I know Boris wants to be very careful with that because under certain ways we’re precluded.”
Trump did not specify which parts of the deal would prevent a US-UK trade agreement. If Britain signed up to “level playing field” arrangements with the EU, that would prevent the Government from reducing regulations below a certain standard which could in theory make it harder to secure trade deals with other countries.
Another failed promise by Johnson.
The comments are reminiscent of July 2018, when Trump dealt Theresa May a severe blow when he said the then prime minister’s Brexit strategy was likely to “kill” the chances of a trade deal with the U.S.
His comments to LBC now threaten to jeopardise Johnson’s election campaign. Another failed promise by Johnson. The prime minister has promised to negotiate a free trade agreement with the U.S. after delivering Brexit.
Of course the U.S. “president urged Farage and Johnson to strike an electoral pact.” That would go down like a lead balloon for whats left of the more moderate Tories if such a thing exist.
Of opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Trump said: “I’m sure he’s a lovely man, but he’s of a different persuasion, to put it mildly.” Corbyn would be “so bad for your country” and “take you into such bad places,” he said.
Corbyn responded on Twitter, saying that, “Donald Trump is trying to interfere in Britain’s election to get his friend Boris Johnson elected.”
Donald Trump is trying to interfere in Britain’s election to get his friend Boris Johnson elected.
It was Trump who said in June the NHS is “on the table”. And he knows if Labour wins US corporations won’t get their hands on it.
Our NHS is not for sale.pic.twitter.com/AUhht3pCgL
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) 31 October 2019
Corbyn has claimed that Johnson’s planned trade deal with Trump would give U.S. companies access to the National Health Service and drive up the price of drugs. “The U.S. has called for full market access to our NHS — which would mean prices for some of our most important medicines increasing up to sevenfold,” Corbyn said on Wednesday at prime minister’s questions.
Asked about this by Farage, Trump said the suggestion was “ridiculous.” “We wouldn’t even be involved in that. We’re trying to fix our health service. We all have our health service problems,” he said, adding that Corbyn had “put that out there.”
Of May, Trump said: “I liked her very much” but added: “I did not agree with her on certain things … I told her exactly how to make the deal but she didn’t listen to me, and that’s okay.”
Asked whether Brexit or his reelection as president would happen first, Trump said Brexit, but added he was disappointed it had not happened yet. “People are tired of hearing about it, we’re even tired of hearing about it over here.”
The prime minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.
Today Jeremy Corbyn launched the Labour party official general election campaign to rousing support
This is a "Pay as You Feel" website Please help keep us Ad Free.
You can have access to all of our online work for free. However if you want to support what we do, you could make a small donation to help us keep writing. The choice is entirely yours.
