'UK's departure from the EU will be like losing an anchor around the ankle'
Leaders of the world's seven richest democracies - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - attend the G7 Summit on Sunday. Pic/AFP
Biarritz (France): US President Donald Trump on Sunday promised a "very big trade deal" with the UK, saying its departure from the European Union (EU) will be like losing "an anchor around the ankle".
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Trump made the remarks while speaking to the media after his breakfast meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the ongoing G7 Summit in this French resort town, the BBC reported. This was their first one-on-one meeting after Johnson became Prime Minister late last month.
Trump told the media that a deal with the UK would happen "quickly". "We're going to do a very big trade deal, bigger than we've ever had with the UK. And now at some point they won't have the obstacle, they won't have the anchor around their ankle, because that's what they have," he added.
Before his talks with the US President, Johnson however, said that the US must open up its markets if a post-Brexit trade deal was to be agreed. "I don't think we sell a single joint of British lamb in the US, we don't sell any beef," the Prime Minister said.
Johnson spoke about "massive opportunities for the UK to prise open the American market". As a member of the EU, the UK cannot make its own trade deals with other countries – and the EU does not have a free trade deal with the US. The UK has already agreed 13 "continuity" deals with 38 countries that will apply post-Brexit.
Macron to lead Iran nuclear talks
As the G7 Summit officially began on Sunday with all leaders at a round table discussion, it was revealed that French President Emmanuel Macron has been tasked with leading talks with Iran over its nuclear deal.
Trump's suggestion misinterpreted?
US President Donald Trump on Sunday rowed back from a suggestion made just hours earlier that he regrets his trade war with China, saying instead he's only sorry not to have raised tariffs even higher. Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told the media at the G7 summit in the French resort of Biarritz that the president's earlier comments had been misunderstood.
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