White House restates position that UK is now at back of the queue for trade deals, as world leaders react to Brexit vote

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The White House has restated its position that Britain would be at the back of the queue when it comes to making trade deals with the US, in the wake of the Brexit vote.



In remarks on Friday, Barack Obama had offered reassurance that the UK would remain an “indispensable” ally and that “the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is enduring”.

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Within hours, however, the cold reality of Britain’s new status, and its impact on relations with Washington, became clear. When the president came to Britain in April to help make the case for the remain camp, he warned that, if the UK left the EU, it would have to go to the back of the queue for a deal like the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) being negotiated between Washington and Brussels.

The White House made clear on Friday that the threat he made then still stuck. “Obviously, the president stands by what he said and I don’t have an update of our position,” spokesman Eric Schulz told reporters.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic contender to replace Obama in this year’s presidential elections, said Washington should “make clear America’s steadfast commitment to the special relationship with Britain and the transatlantic alliance with Europe”.

Her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, while visiting a golf resort he owns in Scotland, said it was a “great thing” that the people of the UK had “taken back their country”.

Reactions from the rest of the world’s leaders ranged from trepidation to thinly disguised glee in Moscow and Tehran.

The most triumphalist response came from the deputy chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Massoud Jazayeri, who was quoted by the Fars news agency as describing the EU as “a pawn in the hands of America”.

“England should pay the price of years of imperialism and committing crimes against humanity,” Jazayeri said, saying that the price would be Scotland and other parts of the UK demanding independence. “The people of Ireland, Scotland and others have the right to bring themselves out of the tyrannical rule of the monarchy, the so-called Great Britain”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, expressed his preference for Britain to remain in the EU during his UK visit in October 2015. Photograph: Andy Rain/AFP/Getty Images

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, sought to rebut suggestions that Brexit and the consequent weakening of the EU played into his hands.



Speaking to reporters on a visit to Uzbekistan, he said it would have “positive and negative consequences” for Russia and that “the situation will correct itself in the near future”. He put the outcome down to Britain’s concerns over migration and security, and dissatisfaction with EU bureaucracy.

Moscow’s mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, took a more bullish view. “Without the UK in the EU there won’t be anyone to so zealously defend the sanctions against us,” he said.

Russia’s presidential business ombudsman, Boris Titov, said: “Leaving will tear the EU away from the Anglo-Saxons, that is from the US.” And reacting to sterling’s slide on the foreign exchanges, a Russian state TV anchor observed drily: “It’s no joke: the pound is the new rouble.”

Beijing adopted a cautious tone. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, had argued during a visit to Britain last October that China wanted Britain to stay in a united EU to strengthen China’s bond with Europe.

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On Friday, a foreign ministry spokeswoman signalled that while Beijing would “continue to work to build a sound relationship with the UK”, the bilateral relationship would have to be reviewed in light of Britain’s decision.

“It is true that with Britain leaving EU it will have an impact on different fields,” Hua Chunying said at a briefing in Beijing.

Meanwhile Chinese state media said the vote to leave the European Union meant Britons were “showing a losing mindset” and becoming “citizens of a nation that prefers to shut itself from the outside world”.

Global Times, the Communist party’s mouthpiece, said in an editorial: “The world’s centre used to lie on the two sides of the Atlantic. Now the focus has shifted to the Pacific.”