The UK could take up to 10 years to negotiate trade deals with the US if it leaves the EU, Barack Obama has said.<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
Britain would also have less influence globally if it left, he added.<\/p>\n
His warning over UK-US trade deals has angered campaigners for leaving the EU – with Mayor of London Boris Johnson calling his comments “hypocritical”.<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Asked about the comments, he said: “The UK would not be able to negotiate something with the United States faster than the EU.<\/p>\n
“We wouldn’t abandon our efforts to negotiate a trade deal with our largest trading partner, the European market.”<\/p>\n
Mr Obama was speaking as he prepared to leave the UK at the end of his three-day visit.<\/p>\n
During a wide-ranging interview, he said:<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“She values a strong British voice in the EU.”<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
The UK’s referendum on whether the country should stay in the EU or leave will take place on 23 June.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The US president warned the UK would have “less influence in Europe and as a consequence, less influence globally”, if it left the EU.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
His intervention in the EU referendum has drawn fierce criticism from pro-Brexit campaigners.<\/p>\n
Ms Stuart said: “What I think is so extraordinary is that an American president should urge us to join [sic] an utterly dysfunctional organisation.<\/p>\n
“We should shape the future by leaving an organisation that is neither capable of reforming nor changing.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Mr Obama was also asked about his priorities for the final nine months of his presidency.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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