British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, looking for a future after Brexit, met US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G-7 summit. There was good mood and kind words from Trump – in the matter, a bilateral trade agreement, but soon ended the agreement.
Verbal pats by Trump, with scrambled eggs with veal sausage, mixed pastries and fruit, and toast was also on the menu: The working breakfast on the edge of the G-7 summit in Biarritz on Sunday may have been quite to the taste of Johnson.
The two politicians, who are not only politically tactical, but also stand out with their hairstyles, got along splendidly, again and again there were laughter in front of the cameras – even at the expense of Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May. „He is the right man for the job „Trump said about Johnson and Brexit. „I have said that for a long time. It did not make your predecessor very happy. “
Johnson Trump „very grateful“
Johnson is reliant on good words rather than on a lucrative bilateral trade deal with the United States. Although Trump was confident that the US and Britain will conclude their desired free trade agreement „fast“. He spoke of a „very large trade deal – bigger than we ever had“.
„I’m very grateful for that,“ Johnson said. „We look forward to discussions to advance our bilateral relations at all levels, especially in commerce. We are very excited about it. “
„Many fantastic mini-deals“
The two had barely gone down the stairs at the Biarritz Hotel du Palais when it became clear that they would each have very different ideas about a trade deal. The US has announced that it will negotiate part of such an agreement after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, while London is seeking a package deal. Johson promised after the meeting „a fantastic deal, once we have cleared all the obstacles out of the way“. However, Trump interrupted him and promised „many fantastic mini deals“.
Johnson has put everything on one card – namely an EU exit as planned at the end of October, with or without agreements with the EU. Especially in a „no-deal“ scenario would be a trade agreement with the US – currently London benefits from the regulations that exist between the EU and the US – of utmost importance.
Johnson’s bet on the US
Brexit advocates claim that such a trade agreement could make up for the failures through new border controls and poorer access to the EU single market. In the previous year, around half of British exports of goods and services went to the EU, and the US was the second-largest export market with around 18 percent – by a considerable margin.
For Johnson, it’s critical to close not just goods, but services as well. The service sector is the much larger factor in the UK economy. Here, Johnson already complained that in the United States, for example, as an insurance company, it was necessary to obtain approval from 50 authorities – in each state – not just two, as in Great Britain.
Meeting with Tusk
Brexit will also play a role in further discussions in Biarritz. For lunch, a bilateral meeting of Johnson with EU Council President Donald Tusk is planned. The unresolved dispute over the Northern Ireland catch-up is likely to play a role, for which Johnson rejects the already negotiated withdrawal agreement with the EU.
Meanwhile, there are also first concrete results of the G-7 meeting. The G-7 governments commissioned French President Emmanuel Macron to send a message to Iran. It is still a priority of the seven governments that Iran should not receive nuclear weapons and reduce tensions in the Gulf region, according to French government circles. But this is not a formal negotiating mandate, Macron explained later. The G-7 had discussed foreign policy issues such as Iran on Saturday night.
