Donald Trump says Brexit to be a great thing, wants deal with UK

The United States President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that Brexit would turn out to be a great thing and other countries would follow Britain out of the European Union.

He promised to strike a swift bilateral trade deal with the United Kingdom.

Speaking in an interview five days before his inauguration, Mr. Trump described himself as a big fan of Britain and endorsed last year’s vote to leave the European Union.

“I think Brexit is going to end up being a great thing.

“I’ll tell you, the fact that your pound sterling has gone down, great, because business is unbelievable in a lot of parts in the UK,” he said.

The June 23 vote took many investors and chief executives by surprise.

It has triggered the deepest political and financial turmoil in Britain since World War Two and the biggest ever one-day fall in sterling against the dollar.

Sterling has since fallen further against the U.S. dollar.

However, traders, businesses and investors fret about the type of relationship Britain will have with its biggest single trading partner after it leaves the bloc.

Trump’s election campaign seized on the Brexit vote as an example of disillusioned voters rising against the political establishment.

He forged a friendship with leading Brexit campaigner, Nigel Farage, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Theresa May.

 

Source: Reuters