President Obama on Wednesday dodged a question about whether he stands by his earlier statement that the U.K. will have to go to the “back of the queue” on negotiating trade deals with the U.S. and other countries if it decided to leave the European Union.
In making the case against the Brexit movement during a trip to London earlier this year, Obama wrote an op-ed in favor of Britain remaining in the EU and threatened that if the British citizens voted to leave, they would forfeit their right to be a part of major international trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Asked about those comments Wednesday during a press conference in Ottawa, Obama emphasized the positive, underscoring the “special relationship” between the United States and the U.K. that he said would not change even though he argued that the U.K.’s absence from the European Union and the potential “disruptions” that causes “makes it harder to solve” challenges the two countries face.
“The ties with the people and the language and institutions and the business relationships we have — the cooperation on security issues and global challenges — those are so fundamental,” he said, that “our relationship with the U.K. fundamentally doesn’t change.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the State Department walked back Obama’s “back of the queue” comments.
In his remarks from Canada, Obama added that the U.S. is the least of the U.K.’s challenges right now as the country focuses on how it will negotiate trade deals with the rest of the nations in the EU after leaving, Obama pointed out.
“These things are not easily negotiable” after a country “suddenly goes off on another track.”
“Their first and primary concern will be figuring out how they operate with the EU and the European market if in fact they leave,” he said.
The president made the remarks at a press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto while attending the kick-off of the North American Leaders Summit.
His main message to outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama said, is for “everybody to catch their breath, come up with a plan and a process that is orderly, transparent, that people understand.”
“I think it’s a difficult, challenging process but it does not need to be a panicky process,” he said.
Earlier, Obama took a dig at Brexit backers, arguing that they still want access to the world trade market without having to abide by the laws that other countries agreed to following.
“So apparently, their argument is not against trade generally — they just didn’t want any obligations to go with the access to the free market,” he said.
“I think it’s important to point out that those who argued about leaving the European Union are the same folks who the very next day are insisting, ‘Don’t worry – we are still going to have access to the single market,'” he said.
The president also warned against drawing “easy analogies” between the successful Brexit vote and the protectionist support fueling Donald Trump’s campaign for president.
