Reality Check: Is 70% of UK trade with non-trade deal states?

On Monday evening on ITV, Boris Johnson argued that it would be possible to negotiate a new trade deal with the EU within two years of the UK voting to leave.

He also made the following claim: "Don't forget that 70% of our trade currently takes place with countries with whom we have no trade deals at all."

But UK trade statistics don't bear that out. In January 2016, 47% of UK exports went to the EU. A further 9% went to Switzerland, which has a long-standing series of bilateral deals with the EU, plus smaller amounts to other countries where trade deals are in place. Only a minority of exports went to countries with whom we have no trade deal.

It was the same picture for imports: 53% of imports came from EU countries plus 3% from Norway, which has full access to the single market, and smaller amounts from other countries where trade deals were in place.

The figures do vary from month to month, but it's a fairly consistent pattern.

Reality Check verdict: False

READ MORE: The facts behind claims in the EU debate