Trump vows to double, triple trade with UK, post Brexit
Trump: US committed to phenomenal trade deal as UK leaves EU
President Trump says the U.S. is committed to a phenomenal trade deal with the U.K.
President Trump vowed during a press conference with outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May to double or triple trade with the United Kingdom once it officially leaves the European Union, which is currently slated to happen in October.
"There’s tremendous promise in that trade deal," Trump told reporters on Tuesday, the second day of his state visit to Britain. "Probably two to three times what we’re doing right now.
May is set to resign on Friday as prime minister after failing to pass her Brexit plan through Parliament. According to The Associated Press, she will continue as a member of Parliament after she steps down.
Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union on Oct. 31, after pushing its original departure date back by several months because of a lack of agreement about what the deal should look like.
The leaders of the two countries seemed to differ about what, exactly, will be on the table in the U.S.-U.K. trade talks. Trump, when asked whether changing British food standards and the publicly funded National Health Service might be included in a deal, said that "everything will be on the table, absolutely."
May, however, said that both sides need to negotiate and "come to an agreement about what should and shouldn't be in the trade agreement."
On Sunday, U.S. ambassador to the U.K. Woody Johnson suggested during an interview with the BBC that U.S. pharmaceutical and medical firms in the private sector should be able to bid for contracts from the NHS.
"I think probably the entire economy in a trade deal, all things that are traded, will be on the table," he said.
However, British lawmakers have mostly rejected the inclusion of the NHS in a trade deal.
And, as a member of the 28-state EU, Britain must abide by its standards for goods and services -- which differ from those in the U.S. That means certain U.S. products -- like chicken, which can be washed chemicals like chlorine in the U.S. -- can’t be sold in Britain. That means if Britain does leave the EU in October, it will have to determine which standards and regulations to keep.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP
But Johnson said on Sunday that chlorinated chicken, which is banned in the EU, is "completely safe."
"Once again, you can have a choice. We have five million Brits, British people, coming over to the U.S. every year and I’ve never heard a complaint, one complaint about anything to do with chicken," he said.