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Post-Brexit trade deal with US could take 10 years, Obama warns | Post-Brexit trade deal with US could take 10 years, Obama warns |
(about 7 hours later) | |
The UK could take up to 10 years to negotiate trade deals with the US if it leaves the EU, Barack Obama has said. | The UK could take up to 10 years to negotiate trade deals with the US if it leaves the EU, Barack Obama has said. |
In a BBC interview, the US president said: "It could be five years from now, 10 years from now before we were able to actually get something done." | In a BBC interview, the US president said: "It could be five years from now, 10 years from now before we were able to actually get something done." |
Britain would also have less influence globally if it left, he added. | |
His warning over UK-US trade deals have angered campaigners for leaving the EU - with Mayor of London Boris Johnson calling his comments "hypocritical". | |
Labour MP Gisela Stuart, who co-chairs Vote Leave, said it was "extraordinary" that the US should urge Britain to remain part of a "dysfunctional organisation". | |
On Friday, Mr Obama said the UK would be at the "back of the queue" for trade deals with the US, if it left the EU. | |
Asked about the comments, he said: "The UK would not be able to negotiate something with the United States faster than the EU. | |
"We wouldn't abandon our efforts to negotiate a trade deal with our largest trading partner, the European market." | "We wouldn't abandon our efforts to negotiate a trade deal with our largest trading partner, the European market." |
Mr Obama was speaking as he prepared to leave the UK at the end of his three-day visit. | |
During a wide-ranging interview, he said: | |
His fresh intervention in the EU debate comes as Democratic US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton also made it clear she thought it would be a mistake for the UK to leave the union. | |
Her senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said: "Hillary Clinton believes that transatlantic co-operation is essential, and that co-operation is strongest when Europe is united. | Her senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said: "Hillary Clinton believes that transatlantic co-operation is essential, and that co-operation is strongest when Europe is united. |
"She values a strong British voice in the EU." | |
The Vote Leave campaign said Mrs Clinton's comments were "hollow", but a Downing Street source said "we should listen to our closest friends and allies". | |
The UK's referendum on whether the country should stay in the EU or leave will take place on 23 June. | |
'More influence' | |
Returning to the UK's place in the EU, Mr Obama said the US wanted the UK to be "at the table" influencing countries that might not see things from a US view. | |
Despite criticism from pro-Brexit campaigners, he said he thought "ordinary British voters" would be interested in his thoughts on the UK and the EU. | |
The US president warned the UK would have "less influence in Europe and as a consequence, less influence globally", if it left the EU. | |
"Since we rely heavily on the UK as a partner globally on a whole range of issues, we'd like you to have more influence," he told the BBC. | |
His intervention in the EU referendum has drawn fierce criticism from pro-Brexit campaigners. | |
Ms Stuart said: "What I think is so extraordinary is that an American president should urge us to join [sic] an utterly dysfunctional organisation. | |
"We should shape the future by leaving an organisation that is neither capable of reforming nor changing." | |
London mayor Mr Johnson said the UK could be in a more favourable position to strike a trade deal with the US if it left the EU. | |
"We haven't had a trade deal with America for 43 years. Why not? Do you know why not? Because we're in the European Union," he said. | |
'Best mother I know' | |
Mr Obama was also asked about his priorities for the final nine months of his presidency. | |
He mentioned the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, prosecuting the campaign against so-called Islamic State, and concluding a trade agreement with the EU. | |
Mr Obama is pushing hard for a proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal, to cut tariffs and regulatory barriers between the US and EU countries. | |
The president also praised the First Lady, his wife, Michelle. | |
"I cannot separate anything that I've achieved from the partnership that I've had with that remarkable woman," he told the BBC. | |
"First and foremost, she's the best mother I know, and my daughters are amazing because of her parenting. | |
"I am labour, she's management, you know, so I can take very little credit beyond executing some of the plans that she has." | |
'Reject pessimism' | |
Mr Obama's visit to the UK is likely to be his last as US president. | |
On Saturday, he visited the Globe theatre where he watched actors perform scenes from Hamlet as part of events to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare. | |
Speaking in London, he urged young people to "reject pessimism and cynicism" and "know that progress is possible and problems can be solved". | Speaking in London, he urged young people to "reject pessimism and cynicism" and "know that progress is possible and problems can be solved". |
Later, he had a meeting with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and played golf with Mr Cameron. | |
On Friday, Mr and Mrs Obama visited the Queen at Windsor Castle and held talks with Mr Cameron, before dining with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry at Kensington Palace. |