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Third, with Britain’s vote to leave the EU, TTIP has just lost one of its greatest cheerleaders. French and German officials are increasingly expressing concerns about TTIP. Within three days of the Brexit vote, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls dismissed the possibility of a US-EU trade deal, stating TTIP was against ‘EU interests’. In addition, 59 per cent of Germans oppose TTIP – up from 51 per cent – according to the most recent Eurobarometer survey. Britain’s voice for further trade liberalization will be sorely missed by American negotiators eager to strike a deal.

Or is it like this? Despite British attempts to promote TTIP inside the EU, as “one of its greatest cheerleaders”, they, the Americans, have come up against a brick wall of European opposition at both institutional and street level. So they have given up on TTIP and no longer need the UK to play a role on their behalf inside Europe. So the UK has left the EU and now seeks a closer trade, investment and security relationship with the USA whilst using so-called negotiations over Brexit as the framework for a sustained anti-EU propaganda campaign aimed at creating a Brexit domino effect.

Chatham House

11th July, 2016

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