President Trump said Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal might make trade with the United States impossible.
“Right now, if you look at the deal, they may not be able to trade with us. And that wouldn’t be a good thing. I don’t think they meant that. I don’t think that the prime minister meant that, and hopefully she’ll be able to do something about that,” said Trump from the White House lawn, via BBC News.
A BBC article reported that President Trump’s concern on UK trade is not unfounded. The article mentions how even when the date arrives when the UK leaves the EU, the deal would restrict the UK’s trade choices during a transition period that could last years, as the UK would be still be tied economically to some EU rules, despite not having a say in those rules anymore.
Former and current members of British Parliament have expressed dissatisfaction with the overall Brexit deal. British MP Michael Fallon said the deal is “doomed” and the “worst of all worlds,” the Financial Times reported.
Even Nigel Farage, the British politician seen as leading a major force that pushed for a break with the EU, is no fan of the deal May put forth.
“This is not a deal, it’s a capitulation. What she’s done is to give away a huge sum of money, somewhere between 40 and 60 billion sterling. In return for a three year period over which we’ll have no control over our borders, no control over our laws. We’ll be locked inside the European Union’s rulebook, but without having any say on any new laws that come in that period of time,” said Farage, via Fox Business. “It’s a dreadful deal. It’s the worst deal in history. It makes us even weaker as a nation.”
Theresa May Tries to Assure the Public
Theresa May wrote a letter to the public, hoping to assure them of the soundness of her proposed deal, dated Nov. 24. She was in Brussels speaking to the EU at the time. In the letter, she talks about how she became prime minister, which was due to the Brexit referendum and its unexpected pro-Brexit outcome.
In the letter, she also talks about ending EU influence in British affairs, but also the need to still cooperate with the EU to protect intertwined British interests.
The March 29 deadline is a concern to all parties, and could be the reason May used language designed to push the deal along.
“To do that we need to get on with Brexit now by getting behind this deal,” May writes, towards the end of the letter, as obtained by The Sun.
The British Parliament still has to agree on the deal put forth by May. In video footage, MPs in the House of Commons can be heard jeering May as she talks about the deal, via Fox Business.
If May can’t get an agreement by next year’s deadline, the UK risks a hard Brexit, which would sever any trade deals with the EU, and is seen as a gamble on the UK’s future, TLDR News reported.
