(Reuters) – US President Donald Trump has invited British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to visit him at the White House in the new year, British media reported on Sunday.
Trump’s invitation came after he won the British prime minister’s election this month, The Sunday Times reported. Britain wants to establish a new trade agreement with the United States after it leaves the European Union in late January.
“Some potential dates have been published in mid-January, but nothing has been agreed yet. But it is clear that both sides want this to happen in early 2021,” a source close to the White House told the Sunday Times .
A spokesman for Johnson’s office on Downing Street said the reports were “speculation.” “We will respond to any formal invitation, but anything less than that is speculation,” he said.
Johnson is reluctant to make the visit before delivering Brexit on Jan. 31 and would prefer to go after a cabinet reshuffle scheduled for February, when he is expected to appoint Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove as his new trade negotiator. , reported The Mail on Sunday.
This could allow Johnson to bring Gove to the U.S. visit ahead of talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, according to the report.
Some Downing Street experts, however, have concerns about Johnson’s visit because of fears that the prime minister could be dragged into Trump’s ongoing impeachment proceedings, the Sunday Times reported.
Johnson on Friday won approval of his Brexit deal in the British parliament, the first step in fulfilling his electoral commitment to deliver Britain’s exit from the European Union on 31 January.
As Britain prepares to leave the bloc, Johnson and Trump agreed in a phone call last Monday to pursue an “ambitious” free trade agreement between the UK and the US.
After Johnson’s election victory on December 12, Trump had said Britain and the United States were now free to sign a new “massive” trade deal after Brexit.
“This deal has the potential to be much bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the EU,” Trump had said in a tweet earlier this month.
The White House declined to comment on the informed invitation to Johnson.
Reports by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Paul Sandle in London and Timothy Ahmann in Washington; Edited by Simon Cameron-Moore / Sam Holmes / Susan Fenton