Johnson and Trump eye US-UK trade deal ‘within a year’

U.S. President Donald Trump wants a trade deal with the U.K. by the summer of 2020, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said following their meeting at the G7 summit.

Acknowledging that a 12-month timetable for a post-Brexit pact with Washington was "very fast," Johnson nevertheless said he'd "love to" to deliver an agreement that quickly.

"There's an opportunity to do a great free trade deal with the United States," Johnson told ITV News. "The president is very gung-ho about that and so am I."

Johnson made a point of criticizing some elements of U.S. protectionism in his meeting with Trump, acknowledging "tough talks ahead" and highlighting barriers to U.K. food produce entering the American market.

"I don't think people realise quite how protectionist sometimes the U.S. market can be," he told ITV. "but what I'm saying to Donald ... is, you know, this is a big opportunity for both of us but ... we need to see movement from the U.S. side."

"They want to do it within a year, I'd love to do it within a year, but that's a very fast timetable"

Johnson also told the BBC that a year-long timetable "is going to be tight" but that suggestions a negotiation could last "years and years" were an "exaggeration."

A trade deal could face domestic resistance on each side of the Atlantic. While the U.K. government has said it will not change animal welfare standards to allow U.S. products into the U.K., American negotiators will push hard for a deal that benefits their farmers. Senior Democrats in Congress have also warned that they would block any trade deal if the U.K.'s exit from the EU were to destabilize the peace process in Northern Ireland.

The U.K. cannot begin substantive negotiations on trade, or strike new deals, until it has left the EU, which it is currently scheduled to do on October 31.