Grow up, PM tells Trump’s ‘naive’ critics
BORIS Johnson urged critics of Donald Trump to ‘grow up’ yesterday, as he vowed to press ahead with talks on a new trade deal.
In a speech in Greenwich, the Prime Minister said the potential benefit of a new trade deal with the US was ‘enormous’.
He said the Government would never allow the NHS to be sold off, and suggested the UK would maintain the ban on controversial farm produce like chlorinated chicken.
But he rounded on critics of the US President, saying: ‘I share the optimism of Donald Trump. And I say to all the naive and juvenile anti-Americans in this country... grow up – and get a grip.’
Mr Johnson also insisted that ministers would not be influenced by ‘mumbo jumbo’ about the supposed dangers of US food, saying that most Americans appeared to be ‘well-nourished’.
He added: ‘ It goes without saying that, of course, the NHS is not on the table. And no, we will not accept any
‘Governed by science and not mumbo jumbo’
diminution in food hygiene or animal welfare standards.
‘But I must say to the America bashers in this country that in doing free-trade deals we will be governed by science and not by mumbo jumbo because the potential is enormous.’
His comments appear to open the door to allowing in some products, such as genetically modified crops, which are currently banned by the EU.
Trade secretary Liz Truss will publish the Government’s negotiating aims for US trade talks in the coming days.
Government sources said formal talks with the US could begin as soon as next week – well before the negotiations with Brussels, which are not expected to begin until early March.
The US Government has said Britain will be ‘at the front of the queue’ for a new trade deal, with President Trump keen to help Mr Johnson demonstrate that Brexit is a success.
US Ambassador Woody Johnson has suggested that a trade deal could be struck before the US presidential elections in the autumn.
But agriculture is likely to be a key sticking point. British farmers have warned that allowing in products banned by the European Union could leave them facing a double whammy of having their own produce banned by Brussels at the same time as being undercut by cheap imports from the US.
Ministers believe that pursuing a US deal at the same time as talks with the EU will put pressure on Brussels not to drag its feet and strike a deal by the end of the year.