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Biden Talks to Trudeau, Lopez Obrador, Johnson in First Calls to Foreign
Leaders

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made clear to
   President Joe Biden on Saturday that he's eager to forge a new
   U.S.-Britain trade deal.

   Johnson's push for a deal came during a wide-ranging call between the
   two leaders that touched on the global response to the coronavirus
   pandemic as well as the Biden administration's announcement this week
   that the U.S. would rejoin the Paris climate accord and the World
   Health Organization, according to a statement from Downing Street.

   A new trade agreement between the allies is a higher priority for
   Johnson than it is for Biden. Britain regained control over its
   national trade policy at the start of the month following the end of a
   post-Brexit transition period.

   White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that the
   administration had no timeline for forging a new trade deal because
   Biden's attention was largely focused on getting the coronavirus
   pandemic under control and pressing Congress to pass the president's
   $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.

   The call with Johnson was at least Biden's third call with a foreign
   counterpart since Friday. The president spoke with Canadian Prime
   Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López
   Obrador on Friday evening.

   Aid to halt immigration

   On Saturday, Lopez Obrador said Biden told him the U.S. would send $4
   billion to help development in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala,
   nations whose hardships have spawned tides of migration through Mexico
   toward the United States.

   López Obrador said that during their Friday call, the two discussed
   immigration and the need to address the root causes of why people
   migrate. Mexico has stopped recent attempts by caravans of Central
   American migrants to cross Mexico.

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