Trump travels in May while she tries to sell her contract on Brexit

LONDON (AFP) – US President Donald Trump has warned that the Brexit deal could undermine US-British trade just as the British prime minister has begun a national tour to rally support for an agreement on Tuesday. dividing the United Kingdom.

Theresa May is headed to Wales and Northern Ireland, a few hours after Trump had declared that it seemed like a "very good plan" for the EU, which could prevent the Britain to conclude its own trade agreement with the United States.

May has two weeks to convince the public and, above all, a divided parliament, before a vote in the House of Commons on December 11 that could end in a humiliating defeat and shatter the deal.

Trump warned that the terms of the deal could block a future trade deal between London and Washington and suggested that May had made a mistake.

"It seems like a good deal for the EU," he told the White House, adding "we need to seriously consider whether or not the UK is allowed to trade".

"In the current state of the negotiations, they may not be able to trade with the United States and I do not think they want it at all." That would be a very big drawback for the United States. Agreement, "said the president, who is close to the leaders of the Brexiteers. UK.

"I do not think the Prime Minister meant that and I hope that she can do something about it."

– Downing Street is back –

May's office in Downing Street reacted to Trump's comments, saying Britain would be free to enter into its own trade deals outside the bloc.

"We will have an independent trade policy so that the United Kingdom can sign trade agreements with countries around the world, including the United States," said a spokesman.

"We have already set the stage for an ambitious agreement with the United States."

The pound sterling was down almost half a percent against the dollar and also down against the euro as a result of Trump's comments. The FTSE 100 London index rose 0.1%.

The month of May, Sunday closed 17 months of complex talks with Brussels by sealing the Brexit agreements with the other 27 heads of state and government of the EU.

But this tortuous chapter about the end of Britain's 45-year commitment to the European project was just the beginning.

May runs a minority Conservative government and opposition parties, not to mention many MPs, are against the deal.

Some Brexiteers believe that Britain remains attached to Brussels, while pro-European lawmakers believe that conditions are worse than staying in the bloc and want a second referendum.

Opposition Labor party leader Jeremy Corbyn called the agreement a "national act of aggression".

– face to face television –

May, who ducked the televised debates in the 2017 early general election, challenged Corbyn in a televised contest, scheduled for December 9th.

"I'm ready to debate it with Jeremy Corbyn because I have a plan." There is no plan, "said May, quoted by The Sun newspaper.

A Labor spokesman said: "Jeremy would enjoy a one-to-one debate with Theresa May about her failed contract with Brexit and the future of our country."

When May defended the agreement Monday in Parliament, more than an hour has passed before a conservative expressed support for the agreement.

As a sign of the difficulties in May, former Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, once an ultra-loyalist, said on Tuesday that the accord gave Britain "the worst of all worlds" and pledged to vote against December 11th.

He said that "the agreement is doomed" unless MEPs can "be persuaded" that it guarantees the possibility of reducing tariffs and concluding trade agreements with countries outside the country. ; EU.

"It's possible to get a better deal by postponing the Brexit to three months," "in the long run it would be in the country's best interest," Fallon said.