White House accuses Boris Johnson of dragging his feet over US trade deal ahead of summer deadline

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THE White House has accused Boris Johnson of foot dragging over negotiating a US trade deal as time runs short ahead of a summer deadline.

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson want to strike a landmark new agreement by July to ensure it isnt derailed by the US presidential election in the Autumn.

Donald Trump hopes to strike a trade agreement by July to ensure it isnt derailed by the US presidential election in the Autumn

Britain is still yet to publish its formal negotiating objectives for the US deal and there are concerns about how long negotiations will take

Britain is still yet to publish its formal negotiating objectives for the US deal and there are concerns about how long negotiations will take

But there is mounting concern among the Presidents officials about what one dubbed as naivety in No10 over how long the talks will take.

Britain is still yet to publish its formal negotiating objectives for the US deal – the first step in the process – despite the US making theirs public 11 months ago, in February last year.

President Trumps Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer again pressed International Trade Secretary Liz Truss to publish Britains document in a phone call with her last week.

Formal trade deal talks with other countries cannot begin until after Britain leaves the EU on January 31, but a UK-US working group has been preparing the ground for months.

A US administration source said: Were up against the clock because Washington will close down in the Autumn for the election.

There seems to be a little bit of naivety in the UK government about how complex trade negotiations really can be.

There are some really sticky issues here – phytosanitary, us buying your lamb and beef, tariffs on cars and trucks, and Congress is then likely to kick up rough when ratifying it.

Senior Cabinet ministers are set to meet on Thursday to thrash out the UKs asks for both major deals.

Aides say Mr Johnson is also now keen to strike a trade deal with Japan as soon as possible this year because of the opportunitites for digital commerce.

Whitehall sources said No10 is holding off on a US bluerpint while Britains positions for UK-EU trade talks are first finalised.

The Tory leader also didnt want to give Labour boss Jeremy Corbyn any general election fodder by publishing it before the December 12 poll.

The tension comes ahead of a trip by the PM to Washington DC to see Mr Trump next month to discuss a trade deal.

Downing Street sources admitted to coming under US pressure to move quicker on the trade negotiation.

The PMs official spokesman said: Once weve left the EU on Jan 31, were free to strike trade deals with countries around the world, not just the EU.