Taking a cue from soon to be President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May put the economic and financial interests of Britons ahead of its relations with their fellow Europeans.
May went hard Brexit, that is, a complete break from her European partners. No half measures.
In a recent speech, May clearly and without conditions or qualifications stated her government's desire to trigger Britain's exit from the European Union and the single market within two years of the upcoming triggering date.
May re-asserted that her country's priorities were to gain complete control over its borders and its immigration policies. In other words, complete control over whom Britain wanted to admit or reject as immigrants to Great Britain.
The European Union is based upon, inter alia, the free flow of European Union citizens among its various member states. As a EU member, it would be impossible and contrary to EU rules and regulations for Britain to prevent EU citizens from other EU nations from immigrating to Britain.
May also wanted Britain to have complete sovereignty and judicial jurisdiction over its people and its companies. In other words, May wanted the British people to have nothing to do with the European Court of Justice, which had jurisdiction over EU members and their citizens.
Similarly, though being a member of the EU customs union had its privileges, it had also its definite disadvantages: namely, the customs union set tariffs on goods imported into the European customs union bloc.
So as a member of this European customs union bloc, Britain would be in effect prevented from making its own trade deals with other major trading blocs or countries such as the United States and China.
So negative on the customs union membership.
Also in separating from the EU, Britain will significantly reduce its multi-million dollar contribution to the EU.
Basically, May wants a comprehensive trade agreement with the rest of the European Union.
May wants Britain and Europe to remain friends, even though they will be going through a potentially very acrimonious and very complicated divorce.
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But if the EU deal with Britain is punitive, it will go it alone. May implied that Britain will do what is necessary to make it competitive, including aggressive tax breaks to keep British companies from leaving Britain.
I predicted in a previous Toronto Sun column, that May's Israeli policy must be more consistent with Trump's and the U. S. Congress pro-Israel position, if she and Britain hope to ensure a successful hard Brexit backed by a favorable bilateral trade agreement with the U.S.
It is no coincidence that Britain downplayed its participation in a recent anti-Israel Paris Conference designed to pressure Israel on a two- state solution. Britain refused to endorse the joint watered down statement issued at the conclusion of this ridiculous anti-Israel Paris Conference.
Britain further blocked the EU as a whole from endorsing the final conference statement, on the correct basis that such a conference statement would just harden existing positions, was anti-Israel and was contrary to the principle that a peace solution could only be obtained by the two relevant parties to the issue- neither of whom had been invited to this useless and waste of time conference.
It is also no coincidence that President Trump has publicly condemned the current EU as simply a market for Germany's manufactured goods. And that the U. S. is very interested in putting Britain first and ahead of the line of countries with whom the U. S. wants to negotiate a fair free trade agreement.
Brexit Britain and the U.S. tighter than ever. Welcome to the emerging new world order.
Mitch Wolfe, a graduate of Harvard University, is the author of “Trump: How He Captured The Trump White House”, which he wrote and had published prior to the election. (available on Amazon.com)
