'A Brexit lesson!' Irish PM says US trade stand-off shows UK how tough life is outside EU

Leo Varadkar talked of a looming “trade war” between
Westminster and Washington and drew a scathing
comparison to Leavers’ hopeful talk of a new ‘Global
Britain’ outside the EU.
There is a growing diplomatic rift between Britain and
the US over the latter’s decision to slap UK-based
aircraft manufacturer Bombardier with a 291 per cent
import tariff.
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The US Department of Commerce ruled that the firm
had received unfair state aid following a complaint by
its direct competitor Boeing, which is an American
company.
But Theresa May immediately hit back by warning that
if the decision is not reversed Boeing could itself face
being cut off from lucrative defence contracts in
Britain worth billions of pounds.
Some high-profile Remainers have pointed out that the
row provides evidence of the dangers of life outside
the EU, where Britain will be able to forge its own
trade deals rather than negotiating them collectively.
Asked what he thought of the situation, and whether it
may act to temper the UK’s ambitious trade vision, Mr
Varadkar said: “I think it could well turn out to be a
lesson for the UK.
“When the Brexit referendum went through, and
certainly in the months since, then there’s been a lot
of talk about a new trade deal between the UK and
the US and how great that would be for the UK and
yet we’re now talking about the possibility of a trade
war.”
Mr Varadkar made the remarks as he arrived for an
informal summit of all 28 EU leaders in Tallinn,
Estonia, at which they were set to discuss the bloc’s
future including its own packed trade agenda.
US
President Donald Trump has repeatedly stressed his
desire to sign a trade deal with the UK as soon as
possible after Brexit, but some commentators has
speculated the Bombardier stand-off could put the
dampers on that.
His new ambassador to the UK, Robert Wood Johnson,
offered little reassurance to workers whose jobs could
be under threat this week when he only pledged to
“continue to follow closely” the situation following a
meeting with Mrs May.
The issue is especially sensitive as Bombardier
employs 4,000 people in Northern Ireland, where the
PM is dependent on the DUP’s support to prop up her
Government.
She has made a personal plea to Mr Trump to step in
and resolve the matter and has also ordered her
ministers to “engage intensively” with Washington and
representatives from Boeing.
Brexit: EU summit in pictures
Fri, September 29, 2017
The European Union will be looking beyond the
impending breakup with Britain at how to build a
common future during their two-day summit
meeting
PLAY
German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures prior to
the 'Tour de table' of the Tallinn Digital Summit
during a European Union summit in Tallinn, Estonia
[AFP/Getty Images]
AFP/GETTY IMAGES 1 of 28
Earlier this month Australian senator James Paterson
told express.co.uk he believed the UK could benefit
from being a free trading nation once more just like his
own country has.
The Liberal MP pointed out that “small and remote”
Australia has built up enviable wealth from trading
around the globe without being part of any
“supranational” project that sucks away sovereignty.
He said: “Australia is a small country and an open
trading country and that’s how we’re prosperous.
We’re remote from most of the population of the world
and we have a small population of our own.
“Without trade we’d be hugely impoverished, but with
trade we’ve been extremely prosperous. We’ve been
very aggressive on the free trade front and we have
free trade agreements with nearly all our major trading
partners.”

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