US has a ‘huge appetite’ for a post-Brexit trade deal says Dominic Raab after he has a surprise Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump who ‘expressed his high regard for Boris Johnson as a Prime Minister’
- He met the US leaders in Washington on a whistle-stop tour of North America
- Mr Raab said: ‘We appreciate the President’s warmth and enthusiasm for the UK-US relationship’
- Boris Johnson insists a Transatlantic trade agreement will be a Brexit benefit
Dominic Raab hailed Donald Trump’s ‘huge appetite’ for a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK today after a surprise meeting at the White House.
The Foreign Secretary chatted with Mr Trump in the Oval Office last night on a whistle-stop tour of North America as he seek to build support for Transatlantic trade deals after Brexit.
He also held talks with the vice president Mike Pence in meetings that were not announced beforehand.
Mr Raab described the president as ‘effusive in his warmth’ for the UK, adding: ‘It was amazing to hear an American president talk about our country in such warm terms.’
Speaking to Sky in Washington today about the meeting the Foreign Secretary said: ‘He expressed his high regard for Boris Johnson as a Prime Minister and we talked about all the things that we want to do together in the post-Brexit vision for the UK.
‘Whether it is getting a free trade deal done – and there is obviously going to be a lot of work to make that happen – but there is huge appetite on both sides to achieve that.’
It is a major relations boost for the new UK top team as they seek to boost UK trade after Brexit.
Mr Raab described the president as ‘effusive in his warmth’ for the UK, before attending a press conference with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo this afternoon
Mr Raab posted this picture after his meeting with vice president Mike Pence in Washington, where they discussed transatlantic trade
Mr Trump met Dominic Raab in Washington last night on the Foreign Secretary’s tour of North America
Mr Raab later met his US counterpart Mike Pompeo, in Washington.
Speaking to reporters about Brexit alongside the Secretary of State Mr Raab said: ‘We will manage the risks come what may. We will leave at the end of October and are determined to make a success of it.’
Mr Raab had earlier hailed the ‘warmth and enthusiasm’ of Donald Trump for the special relationship between Britain and America today after a surprise meeting in Washington last night.
He said: ‘We appreciate the President’s warmth and enthusiasm for the UK-US relationship.
Boris Johnson (pictured in Downing Street with the King of Jordan today) insists a Transatlantic trade agreement will be one of the big benefits of leaving the EU, which he has said must happen by the end of October
‘The UK looks forward to working with our American friends to reach a free trade deal that is good for both countries, and cooperating on the common security challenges we face.’
MailOnline understands that the meeting with Trump came during the Foreign Secretary’s sit down with Mr Pence at the White House.
Mr Raab is also due to sit down with US National security Adviser John Bolton in Washington, the Foreign Office said.
Trade Secretary Liz Truss, who met US Ambassador Woody Johnson last month (pictured), is also in the US pushing for a trade deal
He flew into the US capital following talks on Tuesday in Toronto with Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland and is due to travel on to Mexico following his meetings in the US capital.
The Foreign Secretary is not the only Cabinet minister attempting to woo the Americans this week
Trade Secretary Liz Truss is in Washington to meet figures including secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross.
Tomorrow she is due to give a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.
Ms Truss said: ‘Negotiating and signing an exciting new free trade agreement with the US is one of my top priorities.
‘Having already laid the groundwork, we are fast-tracking this deal so that businesses are able to take advantage of the golden opportunity to increase trade with the US as soon as possible.’
Boris Johnson insists a Transatlantic trade agreement will be one of the big benefits of leaving the EU, which he has said must happen by the end of October.
Mr Trump has also voiced enthusiasm for a pact, saying it could boost trade between the countries by a multiple of five.
However, US politicians have warned that Congress is unlikely to sign off on any deal if Brexit has put the peace process in Ireland at risk.
Visiting the UK in June Mr Trump ramped up the rhetoric by demanding the UK ‘gets rid of the shackles’ of the EU so a transatlantic trade deal can be done.
Stressing his desire for a trade deal, he said: ‘We’re going to get it done.’