Special relationship? We can get even closer!
Trump’s trade boost for Britain days before May goes to US
DONALD Trump last night pledged to build an even closer relationship between the US and Britain in a significant boost for Theresa May.
The US President also paved the way for a lucrative trade relationship with the UK, after ripping up the landmark Trans-Pacific Partnership deal with other countries.
As the Prime Minister prepares to fly to Washington DC at the end of the week, Mr Trump’s official spokesman was asked why she had been chosen for his first visit by any world leader.
Press secretary Sean Spicer replied: ‘I think we’ve always had that special relationship with Britain and that reflects in the Prime Minister’s first visit here.
‘He’s had a great conversation with her and he looks forward to having her here, but we can always be closer.’
Mrs May is hoping to make progress on securing an ambitious trade deal when she meets Mr Trump at the White House on Friday, including lifting existing tariffs.
Yesterday, Mr Trump scrapped a separate trade agreement which had been negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, known as TPP, was part of a plan to boost economic relations and lower tariffs with 11 countries, including Japan, Mexico, Canada, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.
But Mr Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US yesterday.
Mr Spicer said of the decision: ‘When you enter into these multinational agreements, you’re basically putting every other country on par with the United States.’
A separate trade deal between the US and the EU is also considered to be in tatters. Brussels chiefs are growing increasingly frustrated by Mr Trump’s differing stances towards Britain and the EU.
Yesterday, Brussels officials fired a warning shot across Mrs May’s bows by claiming the UK could fall foul of EU laws if it enters formal negotiations with the US before Brexit.
However, Downing Street has confirmed that Mrs May will begin discussions about the potential shape of a UK-US agreement when she meets the President.
It is expected that plans will be put in place to allow thousands of workers to move freely between the two countries to boost both economies. Although any agreement could not come into effect until after Britain has left the EU, some Government sources have suggested the prospect of a deal could offer Mrs May leverage around the Brexit negotiating table.
Stephen Moore, a former economic adviser to the President, said Mr Trump was ‘very committed’ to securing a deal which will help to distance him from his predecessor. Mrs May also plans to use the meeting to stress that Nato is vital to the West’s security to protect against potential Russian aggression, after Mr Trump appeared to dismiss the alliance.
The Prime Minister said on Sunday: ‘We’ll have an opportunity to talk about our possible future trading relationship, but also some of the world’s challenges that we will face. I will be talking to Donald Trump about the issues that we share – about how we can build on the special relationship.’
But she added: ‘It’s the special relationship that also enables us to say when we do find things unacceptable.’ Mr Spicer, who incorrectly described Mrs May as the UK’s head of state at a briefing yesterday, indicated that there would be no press conference when the two leaders meet this week.
The possibility of an early deal with the US came as it emerged that Britain has started discussing a similar agreement with Australia.
That deal could also pave the way for highly skilled workers being guaranteed an easier route into the UK, as Britain shapes up its postBrexit economy.
EU leaders, however, have threatened to stall Brexit negotiations by opposing Downing Street’s wishes to iron out a new trade agreement with Europe as soon as possible. They have insisted that Britain first pays off a bill of up to £60billion, which covers existing EU budget obligations and Eurocrats’ pensions. One diplomatic source claimed yesterday that there was growing concern among remaining member states about the UK’s relentless pursuit of other agreements across the world.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox is understood to be recruiting dozens of trade experts, in the hope of carrying out ‘scoping’ exercises with other countries while a Brexit deal is finalised.
But an EU official said member states would be unflinching until Britain signed off an exit payment, and that its dealings around the world could harm relations with EU negotiators. A European Commission spokesman said yesterday: ‘I do not like that member states...including those that are still member states, are negotiating free trade agreements.
‘This is an exclusive matter of the EU. That means you can discuss or debate but you can negotiate a free trade agreement only after you leave the European Union.’
In a further sign of the rising animosity between London and Brussels, Jean-Claude Juncker told EU officials that English should no longer form part of the EU’s official dialogue. The European Commission president said: ‘English is an outgoing language of the EU so we have to become used to the fact that other official languages are employed with the same intensity.’