A year on, Trump tests limit of UK ‘special relationship’
Donald Trump’s election was expected to hand Britain a secret weapon in forging a post-Brexit future, but his interventions in British politics and controversial foreign policy have strained the so-called “special relationship”. The bond between Britain and the United States has been the backbone of the post-war geopolitical order, but after huge political upheaval in both countries, a status update on the special relationship might now read: “It’s complicated”.
Trump rode to the White House on a populist wave also seen in the Brexit vote. He appeared keen to help the UK by promising a swift trade deal once it left the European Union, in stark contrast to predecessor Barack Obama who had warned Britain would be “at the back of the queue”. Brexit supporters hailed Trump as “the tooth fairy”, giving Britain an unexpected card in their negotiations with the EU.
But the US president’s split with the international community over the Iran nuclear deal, his war-of-words with North Korea and his withdrawal from the Paris climate accord have strained relations and left Britain in a diplomatic fix. “The idea that Donald Trump is going to come in on a white horse and fix all of Britain’s trade problems is a myth,” London School of Economics fellow Brian Klaas told AFP. “It’s a misplaced optimism because trade negotiations will take years to complete
and Trump says things all the time that he doesn’t mean and will never follow through on. Trump might not win in 2020, he might not be the person that the UK is dealing with,” he added.
State visit controversy
Relations took a severe blow in September when the US imposed stiff tariffs on Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier, which employs thousands of people in Northern Ireland, following a complaint from Boeing. Former defense secretary Michael Fallon warned the move “could indeed jeopardise our future relationship with Boeing,” dashing hopes that the US would offer favourable terms in a future deal, which can only be officially negotiated after Britain leaves the EU in 2019.
“There is still the possibility of a trade deal, but at the moment we can’t foresee what that will look like,” Russell Foster, foreign policy expert at King’s College London, told AFP. “The only indication we have got is what’s happened in Northern Ireland with Boeing and Bombardier, where yet again Trump’s unpredictable nature means 4,000 jobs are going to be lost.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May was the first world leader to visit Trump’s White House, and appeared to develop a bond, inviting the US leader for a state visit to stay with the Queen. But hours after the meeting, Trump unexpectedly announced a travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries, affecting dual British citizens and wrong-footing British officials, according to emails released by the BBC last week. “The dual nationals angle will of course be really difficult for us,” read one Foreign Office email.