Boris Johnson has put his foot in it after he sparked a row over British sock exports to the US.
The Prime Minister claimed British hosiers were getting a raw deal from the United States - and struggled to deal with import tariffs and restrictive safety regulations.
Mr Johnson pledged to raise the thorny issue of soft under-footwear when he meets President Donald Trump tomorrow in the sidelines of the UN General Assembly tomorrow.
He launched into the sock-based rant during the flight to New York for the summit.
Mr Johnson said: “If you try to sell British socks in North America, they currently attract a 19 percent tariff. And the Americans insist, before they allow British socks to be sold on the U.S. market, that they must try to set fire to them twice.”
But sock boffins hit back, saying Johnson’s claims of barriers to trading their garments in the US were untrue.
Rueven Fletcher, owner of the Sock Council, a UK retailer and membership organisation that ”celebrates good socks,” told Politico: “My opinion is that if it comes out of Boris Johnson ’s mouth it’s likely not to be true, you may quote me on that if it helps.
And leading sock maker Corgi Socks said US regulations didn’t hamper their trade.
He told Politico: “Duty tariffs are a bit of a barrier, regulations are not. We have no problem with regulations selling in the USA.”
Number 10 insisted the tariff on socks was "a significant barrier to market access for start ups and new entrants."
A spokesperson added: "U.K. fabric and textile manufacturers already adhere to our existing high standards, including fire-testing, but some need to undergo another fire-test to be eligible to sell in the U.S. market."
During the Tory leadership campaign, Johnson revealed he owned “multiple” pairs of the same lucky socks.
He was spotted on a number of occasions wearing £5.99 socks from the British Museum, bearing the image of Ashurbanipal, a king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 668BC to around 627BC.
