Donald Trump hailed Boris Johnson as the “right man for the job” of delivering Brexit and promised a “very big trade deal” as the two leaders held their first meeting.
The US President said he had long held his views on Johnson’s suitability for being prime minister, which “didn’t make your predecessor very happy”.
The two leaders were meeting at the G7 summit to discuss about the possibility of a UK-US trade deal once Britain has left the European Union.
The US president said: “We’re going to do a very big trade deal, bigger than we’ve ever had with the UK and now at some point they won’t have the obstacle, they won’t have the anchor around their ankle, because that’s what they have.”
However, Johnson has warned that a trade deal with the US will not be “plain sailing” and has raised a series of areas where he wants concessions from Washington.
He told Trump: “Talking of the anchor, Donald, what we want is for our ships to take freight, say, from New York to Boston, which for the moment they’re not able to do.”
The president said he wanted a deal done “quickly” because in the past he had been “stymied” under Theresa May and while the UK was still negotiating Brexit.
He added: “This is a different person and this is a person that’s going to be a great prime minister, in my opinion.”
Johnson told him: “I know that there will be some tough talks ahead because at the moment I don’t think we sell a single joint of British lamb in the United States; we don’t sell any beef…. And there are huge opportunities for the UK to penetrate the American market in ways we currently don’t.”
Asked if he had made clear his views on protecting the NHS and animal welfare standards in trade talks with Trump, the prime minister told the PA news agency: “There is complete unanimity on that point.”
The prime minister also warned Trump against escalating his trade war with China.
“We are in favour of trade peace on the whole,” he said as the two leaders and their teams had a working breakfast at the Hotel du Palais.
The pair have directed officials to launch a “special relationship economic working group (SREWG)” following their meeting, according to a joint statement issued by the White House.
US director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow and UK cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill have been directed to set up the group.
“The SREWG will develop market-oriented principles for economic growth and increase bilateral co-operation on issues related to the modern 21st-century economy,” the White House said.
The joint statement said: “Today, President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Boris Johnson met in the margins of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France.
“They celebrated the enduring special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, and reaffirmed the value of transatlantic partnership.
“The president and the prime minister noted the unique depth of the security and defence partnership between the two countries, and the benefits it brings to each. They committed to increasing the co-operation between the two sovereign nations.
“President Trump and prime minister Johnson also discussed how the United Kingdom leaving the European Union presents many opportunities for deepening our already robust economic and commercial relationship, including a comprehensive trade agreement.
“The leaders acknowledged the importance of free, fair and reciprocal trade, and discussed opportunities for deepening our trading relationship in the future based on mutual respect for these principles.
“The president and prime minister also discussed the important role of investment in our respective economies and noted American investment in the United Kingdom is responsible for more than one million British jobs and British investment in the United States is responsible for more than one million American jobs.”