Trump worries Brexit deal may block US, UK trade
'I think Boris is going to get it right,' Trump said.
Trump addresses reporters on his return to the White House.
President Trump expressed confidence in UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson but warned he would need to "get it right" on Brexit so that the U.S. and UK can continue to be trading partners.
"I think Boris is the right man for the time. ... If you do it a certain way, we're prohibited from trading with the UK. That would be very bad for the UK because we can do much more business than the European Union, so I think Boris is going to get it right," Trump said while speaking on the White House South Lawn on Sunday.
A spokesman for Johnson pushed back when Trump issued a similar warning on British radio last week.
"The PM negotiated a new deal which ensures that we take back control of our laws, trade, borders and money — a deal which people said he never would negotiate," a Number 10 Downing street spokesman said, according to PoliticsHome.
"Under this new deal the whole of the UK will leave the EU customs union, which means we can strike our own free trade deals around the world from which every part of the UK will benefit," the spokesman continued.
Trump's remarks come after the European Union agreed to postpone the UK's exit from the bloc for three months, paving the way for a departure on, or before, Jan. 31, 2020.
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It's unclear what part of the Brexit deal Trump believes may block trade with Britain.
The UK is seventh on the list of top U.S. trading partners, at $127.1 billion in traded goods in 2018, according to the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative.
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The U.S. had an $18.9 billion trade surplus with the UK in 2018, meaning it exported more goods and services to the UK than imported from it.