It’s good for America that Brexit work — and it can work for both Britain and the European Union.
With our national interest in mind, President Trump ought to energize his administration toward aiding the process of Britain’s exit from the EU — a process that is presently in trouble.
This week, unveiling her draft Brexit deal with the EU, British Prime Minister Theresa May met a whirlwind of ministerial resignations and parliamentary ire. Led by the enigmatic former foreign minister and ardent Brexiteer, Boris Johnson, many Conservative members of Parliament claim that May’s deal is unacceptable. Claiming May’s deal would fail to re-establish British sovereignty, they suggest it would represent a betrayal of British popular will as rendered in the summer 2016 Brexit referendum.
The core problem with the EU is how undemocratic it is. “Anti-democratic” would be a better word. The purpose of the union at times seems to be a thwarting of the will of the people, and removing power of governing as far away from the governed as possible. Brexit was supposed to be about restoring self-governance to the Brits, and that’s why Brexiteers are extra sensitive to the possibility May’s deal undermines the will of the public expressed in the 2016 Brexit vote.
Led by ardent socialist, Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party opposition has also rejected May’s agreement.
This leaves the prime minister in a very difficult place: lacking the votes to win parliamentary assent for her plan, and apparently lacking the means to persuade the EU to give her a better deal that might pass domestic muster.
This is bad for America. If Britain can’t reach a good Brexit outcome, Britain will be less able to support American interests on the international stage, and less able to buy goods from American businesses. Trump’s administration can and ought to step in to assist Britain. After all, we’ve got some experience in breaking away from unresponsive governments across the water.
Here’s the kicker: Helping Britain get a good Brexit will also help our other allies in Europe.
Britain is a net importer of goods from the EU, and that will continue even if the Brits break out of the EU’s customs union. But if a bad Brexit harms the U.K. economy, British consumers would suffer alongside European suppliers. Whether it be French cheese and wine producers, or German car manufacturers, Britain’s economic malady would reverberate across EU borders. But we believe it’s even worse than that, because major British economic instability also risks the election of Jeremy Corbyn as British prime minister. Seeing as Corbyn overtly preferences centrally planned economies over free markets, a bad Brexit risks redoubling the negative consequences for the EU.
So how can we help our former oppressor free her own oppression?
For a start, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should call the EU leadership and leaders in France and Germany. Trump should tell these leaders that the U.S. sees Britain as our most important ally and we believe the EU is currently behaving punitively with London.
The administration should add that while we hope to rapidly conclude a U.S.-EU trade deal (a top EU priority), we won’t accept a Brexit that metaphorically leaves Britain out to dry. If the EU ignores Trump’s first airing of concern, the president should warn he will suspend efforts to broach better cooperation. Instead, Trump should make clear that he will entertain a continued cooling of U.S.-EU relations. Yet Trump should also make clear to Brussels that their more constructive action will result in his reciprocity toward London. Here, we believe Trump should pressure Theresa May to support retained EU fisheries access to British waters following Brexit. European fishing businesses have significant interest in the waters off the coast of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean and around the U.K. mainland. Trump should make clear that if May is unable to get a better deal from the EU, the US will support British efforts to secure its exclusive economic zones from foreign commercial intrusion.
Most importantly, we should redouble our efforts toward a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement. The expressed support of the world’s largest economy to Britain would signal to other nations that they should have confidence in Britain’s future. Alongside boosting British stability, a new trade deal would also offer improved American access to a high-value economy.
Regardless, Trump should act and act now. Time is running out to reach a good Brexit deal, but Trump has means of salvaging something good.
