Boris Johnson shares Trump's 'optimism' for US trade deal and refuses to use the word Brexit as he lays out EU stance

Follow our live updates here
Jacob Jarvis3 February 2020
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Boris Johnson talked up the "enormous" potential of a fresh trade deal with the US in a rambunctious speech outlining his stance towards the EU.

The prime minister refused to mention the word Brexit as he laid out the government's negotiation stance with the EU bloc following Britain's formal departure.

He spoke of a desire for a free trade deal with the remaining EU27 akin to Canada's agreement - though talked of expansive plans across the globe.

A key country he hopes to trade with will be the United States, with him and Donald Trump having both spoke up the chances of a fresh agreement.

Free trade: Boris Johnson spoke of his desire for tariff free agreements across the world
AP

In his speech today, he hit out at those who have reservations towards such an agreement and said: "We will get going with our friends in America, and I share the optimism of Donald Trump,

"To all the naive anti-Americans... grow up. Get a grip."

He said the US buys "one fifth of everything we export". Mr Johnson hit out at "conspiracy theorists" and said: "The NHS is not on the table".

"I must say to the America bashers, if there are any.... In doing free trade deals we will be governed by science and not mumbo jumbo, because the potential is enormous," he said.

In negotiating new deals he said the government was ready to flex rested "nerves, muscles and instincts" in haggling over terms with countries it has prior been unable to.

He said he has teams ready for a "multi-dimensional game of chess" in wrangling over multiple agreements at once.

Hitting out at the EU's calls for alignment, Mr Johnson said the bloc should not expect Britain to match all of its rules - much as his government would not push for the EU27 to follow UK rules.

"There is no need for a free trade agreement to involve accepting EU rules... any more than the EU should be obliged to accept UK rules," he said.

"It is vital to say this now, clearly."

After highlighting aspects Britain does not want, he gave his firmest commitment yet to what the government does hope to secure.

Brexit Day at Parliament Square - In pictures

1/17

"We have so often been told that we must choose between full access to the EU market along with accepting its rules and its courts, or a free trade agreement... like the Canada deal," he said.

"I hope you've got the message by now, we've made a choice, we want a comprehensive free trade agreement, similar to Canada's."

Brexit: UK's final day in EU

1/33

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, earlier spoke of the openness to a free trade agreement but expressed his own red lines.

He said competition between Britain and the bloc must remain fair while the EU would also push for reciprocal access to fisheries.

He said the bloc respects the desire for divergence but said it does not want to allow this to become "an instrument for unfair competition".

Describing Britain as a "great ally" and "great neighbour", he bemoaned the nation's departure but said the bloc wished to respect Britain's choices.

However, he said despite wanting a close relationship nothing would be able to match the partnership that was there when Britain was in the EU.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in