I’ll open trade deal talks, says Farage
NIGEL Farage last night offered to go to Washington to start trade talks after he claimed Donald Trump had warned him British negotiators were not ready for discussions.
The Brexit Party leader yesterday met the President at Winfield House, the residence of the US ambassador in London. He said Mr Trump had told him he was ‘loving his trip’ but had raised concerns about how long it was taking for the country to leave the European Union.
Speaking on his LBC radio programme, Mr Farage said: ‘Clearly, it was a private meeting but what I can say is he was in top form, he was ebullient.
‘He absolutely believes in Brexit, thinks it’s the right thing for the country to do. He’s obviously concerned it’s taking a very long time.’
Mr Farage said he came away from the meeting with the impression that the US was ready to do a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK but that the Government was unprepared.
He added: ‘What was most interesting about the meeting was trade. The Americans are very, very prepared for their side of the negotiation.’ He said Mr Trump and US ambassador Woody Johnson told him the American team had a 13chapter plan ‘ where they have pretty much completed the work’.
He added: ‘When I asked the extent to which the British were ready for this, I got the impression we are pretty much behind the curve all the way.’
Mr Farage called for an independent delegation of business leaders to travel to the US and negotiate in the mean time.
‘My big take from that meeting an hour ago is America is prepared for this and we simply aren’t,’ he said.
Ahead of the trip, Mr Trump said: ‘Nigel Farage is a friend of mine. Boris is a friend of mine. They are two very good guys, very interesting people.’
In a reference to the Brexit Party’s European election success, he added: ‘Nigel’s had a big victory, he’s picked up 32 per cent of the vote starting from nothing. I think they are big powers over there, I think they have done a good job.’