OXFORD, England — Two months after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, one expert said the United States must be proactive about penning a new free trade agreement with the close partner, especially to maintain many of the defense industry partnerships between the two countries.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter met with British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon on Wednesday in London for the first time since the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote in June. He also gave a speech at the University of Oxford where he said it’s time to stop rehashing the results of the Brexit vote and focus instead on the future of the close partnership between the U.S. and U.K.
“We’re committed to continuing to partner together in the months and years ahead. While I said before the vote that I wished it would go the other way, I’m confident the U.S. and the U.K. will now focus on the future,” the secretary said.
In the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, experts predicted little change in the relationship between the U.S. and U.K., but acknowledged that it was somewhat uncharted territory. Luke Coffey, an analyst with the Heritage Foundation, said that a few months out, it’s looking like those predictions were right.
“We’re two months past the vote and the Earth is still turning and the sun is still rising and most economic indicators recently published show things are improving in the U.K. since the vote,” Coffey said. “The whole doom and gloom scenario has not materialized at all.”
Britain-based companies, such as BAE Systems and Rolls Royce, develop platforms for the U.S. military, and the British military buys hardware from U.S. companies, including 138 F-35Bs, built by Lockheed Martin.
The United Kingdom still has many negotiations to complete before it formally leaves the European Union, but Coffey urged U.S. officials to “be ready on day one” to sign a free trade agreement with Britain.
“What the U.S. needs to do is be proactive and start laying the groundwork,” he said. “The U.S. needs to think strategically here.”
Prior to the referendum, President Obama said the United Kingdom would move to the back of the line to negotiate trade deals, suggesting a new one would not be signed soon after the exit. But some experts have said that the president was likely just hoping to influence the outcome and would move quickly once the need for a new deal arose.
Coffey said it’s too early to say how defense purchases specifically will be handled by a newly negotiated free trade agreement, but said he’s sure it’ll be part of discussions between the two countries.
“The U.S. and U.K. already have a close defense export [relationship], so maybe it works so well already that it won’t be an issue,” he said.
Beyond industrial concerns, much of the defense cooperation and intelligence-sharing between the United States and United Kingdom have nothing to do with the European Union, Coffey said, and are instead founded in NATO, of which Britain is still a member.
“The Brexit decision does not change all that we have to do together, whether in response to Russian provocation or ISIL’s threats,” Carter said at Oxford.
Coffey predicted the Brexit vote could end up allowing the United Kingdom to be more of a leader in foreign affairs now that it’s freed from making decisions only with the consensus of the other members of the European Union.
“In the long-term, it could be better for Britain to be more of an independent actor on the world stage,” he said.
