Barack Obama: post-Brexit trade deal with UK could take 10 years

President says Britain would not get preferential treatment over the EU when it comes to negotiating new terms with US



It could take Britain 10 years to negotiate a trade deal with the US if it votes to leave the EU, Barack Obama has said.

Speaking to the BBC at the end of his final visit to the UK as president, Obama said: “It could be five years from now, 10 years from now before we’re actually able to get something done.”

Obama is in the last nine months of his presidential term and has spent the past three days in London as part of a state visit. During that time he urged Britons to remain part of the EU as they prepare to vote on membership of the 28-country bloc at the 23 June referendum.

Obama told the BBC that Britain would not get preferential treatment over the EU when it came to negotiating a new trade deal. 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.”

Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Sunday 24 April 2016 11.44 BST