Boris Johnson to hold trade talks with Trump in case deal with EU fails
Boris Johnson with US president Donald Trump. Picture: Saul Leob/Getty Images. - Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Boris Johnson has confirmed he will hold trade talks with the US at the same time as the EU - in case they fail.
The prime minister said it was "epically likely" that the UK would strike a comprehensive trade deal with the EU by the end of 2020 - when the transition period ends.
However, he warned that "you always have to budget for a complete failure of common sense".
His comments follow reports that the UK would seek to conduct parallel post-Brexit trade talks with the US and EU from February, a tactic reportedly favoured by Liz Truss and Dominic Raab to pressurise the bloc.
He told BBC Breakfast: "Obviously you always have to budget for a complete failure of common sense, that goes without saying, but I'm very, very, very confident that we'll get a (deal).
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"This is not about a deal, this is about building a great new partnership. And from January 31, what we're going to do is start working with our friends and partners around the world - not just with the EU.
"We're going to start building new relationships with friends and partners around the world."
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Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on January 31, but will enter a transition period until the end of the year.
Johnson has insisted he will not push back the deadline, but critics claim that the timescale is too tight to reach a new deal.
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