Giving an interview outside the White House Monday, the US president said that the deal proposed by May’s team sounded good for the European Union, however, the UK’s trade with the US might be hamstrung by the deal’s terms, Reuters reported.
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“I think we have to take a look seriously whether or not the UK is allowed to trade. Because right now if you look at the deal, they may not be able to trade with us,” he said. “And that wouldn’t be a good thing. I don’t think they meant that.”
He also said that he hoped May would be able to “do something about that,” but he did not specify which details of the deal he was concerned about.
“The political declaration we have agreed [upon] with the EU is very clear: we will have an independent trade policy so that the UK can sign trade deals with countries around the world — including with the US,” a spokeswoman for May’s office said.
“We have already been laying the groundwork for an ambitious agreement with the US through our joint working groups, which have met five times so far,” she added.
Under the deal secured with EU leaders on Sunday, the UK will leave the bloc in March with continued close trade ties. However, the deal must now be approved within the UK Parliament, where May has faced strong opposition both within the Labour party and her own Conservative Brexiteers.