Skip to main content

Barack Obama: Brexit would put UK 'back of the queue' for trade talks

US president, visiting London, says ‘part of being friends is being honest’ as he lays out perils of leave vote in EU referendum



Barack Obama has warned that the UK would be at the “back of the queue” in any trade deal with the US if the country chose to leave the EU, as he made an emotional plea to Britons to vote for staying in. The US president used a keenly awaited press conference with David Cameron, held at the Foreign Office, to explain why he had the “temerity to weigh in” over the high-stakes British question in an intervention that delighted remain campaigners.

Obama argued that he had a right to respond to the claims of Brexit campaigners that Britain would easily be able to negotiate a fresh trade deal with the US. “They are voicing an opinion about what the United States is going to do, I figured you might want to hear from the president of the United States what I think the United States is going to do.

“And on that matter, for example, I think it’s fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement, but it’s not going to happen any time soon because our focus is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done”.

Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 22 April 2016 20.30 BST


Obama UK would be 'back of queue'

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US unions plan attack on Donald Trump in attempt to derail presidential bid

Concerned labor group leaders are organizing ad campaigns and phone banks as Trump’s populist message on trade and jobs draws in union voters The prospect of a Donald Trump nomination has labor leaders scrambling to hold the line as the Republican frontrunner’s appeal to disaffected working-class voters threatens to upset the traditional political calculus. The majority of America’s almost 15 million unionized workers can be usually be relied upon to back the Democratic candidate in a presidential year, but leaders are concerned by Trump’s populist message on trade and jobs – and his insistence that union workers are just one of many groups on a long list of those he claims “love” him. Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Tuesday 26 April 2016 12.00 BST

Trump attacks Clinton as victories set stage for brutal election

Battle lines appear drawn for general election as Republican frontrunner says Democrat has nothing going for her except ‘the woman’s card’ Donald Trump set the stage for a brutal battle with Hillary Clinton, claiming she is only in contention for the presidency because she is a woman, as both candidates scored dominant victories in Tuesday night’s primary elections. The Republican frontrunner attacked Clinton as weak and crooked and warned that she would be a “horrible president” as he sought to frame the fight for the White House. Speaking at Trump Tower in New York, he said witheringly: “I think the only card she has is the woman’s card. She’s got nothing else going. And frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she’d get 5% of the vote. The only thing she’s got going is the woman’s card, and the beautiful thing is women don’t like her, OK?” Mary Pat Christie, the wife of former Republican candidate Chris Christie, who was standing behind Trump as he mocked Clinton, a...

Twitter's appointment of new chief in China incenses rights activists

Kathy Chen criticised by pro-democracy activists for her government and military background as she joins social media site still blocked by Beijing China’s Communist party-controlled media has criticised “narrow-minded” and “prejudiced” online activists who are questioning Twitter’s decision to appoint as its first regional chief a former member of the People’s Liberation Army who once had ties to the country’s security services. Kathy Chen – a former Microsoft manager whose Twitter handle describes her as a “curious explorer” – was named as the social network’s managing director for mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan last week. Chen’s appointment has incensed Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong who use Twitter, a service that has been blocked in mainland China since mid-2009 . Continue...  Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Wednesday 20 April 2016 07.53 BST