British Prime Minister Theresa May’s draft proposal that would allow the United Kingdom to leave the European Union could hinder a trade deal with the U.S., the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. warned.
“What I’m focusing on here is something the president has also said — that is looking forward to, and hoping, that the environment will lead to the ability for the U.S. to do a quick, very massive bilateral trade deal,” Ambassador Woody Johnson told BBC Radio 4’s Today program Monday.
But when pressed on whether that could take place under the proposed framework, Johnson said it didn’t “look like it would be possible.”
“We’re still going through the stages of deciding exactly where the country is going,” he told the radio show. “If it goes in a way that allows these kinds of agreements to occur then I think that will be very positive in the president’s eyes.”
The comments from Johnson, the New York Jets owner and Johnson & Johnson company heir who was confirmed to his diplomatic post in August 2017, are a blow to May, who seems to be struggling to draft a Brexit arrangement that will be ratified by the British government before a March 29 deadline. Johnson additionally suggested in the interview that the nation was “in need of leadership.”
May’s draft withdrawal treaty, which appears to lack the support it needs to be approved in a crucial January vote, complicates the potential for a trade deal with the U.S. any time soon.
Trump has voiced skepticism regarding a trade deal with the U.K. both in an interview with the Sun over the summer and to reporters at the White House in November. “I think we have to take a look seriously whether or not the U.K. is allowed to trade because right now if you look at the deal, they may not be able to trade with us,” Trump said last month.
A spokeswoman for May told the BBC the U.K. wants “an ambitious trade agreement,” adding it was “a priority after we leave the European Union.”
Johnson also told the outlet Monday that it would be “great” if Trump could make his official state visit to the U.K. in May, but it depended on whether that time frame suited officials from both countries.
