Brexit will open more doors to overseas trade than it shuts, says a former Irish diplomat.
"The prospect of an 'Anglophone Alliance' is always there in the background", Ray Bassett told the Daily Express as British Brexit negotiator David Frost resumed trade talks with Brussels this week.
"Sometimes in negotiations it is better to leave it in the shadows and not to be too overt on the matter", he added. "It is up to Frost whether he needs to spell it out or just hint at it".
The negotiations towards a UK-EU trade agreement have stalled over the Brussels’ insistence on continued fishing rights in Britain’s extensive maritime exclusive economic zone and that UK businesses should still follow EU regulations to prevent them outcompeting European firms.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has responded with brinksmanship, flatly refusing to extend the Brexit transition period beyond the end of this year.
Bassett insists "there is no contest" between the combined economies of the UK, US and Canada and the EU which is set to lose nearly £3 trillion ($3.9 trillion) – almost a fifth – of its annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) when Britain leaves on December 31 this year.
International Monetary Fund figures for 2020 value the US economy at £16.4 trillion ($21.4 trillion) and Canada’s at £1.3 trillion ($1.7 trillion).
Fellow Commonwealth members Australia and New Zealand add up to another £1.25 trillion ($1.6 trillion).
Brexit will cut EU GDP from £14.8 trillion ($19.5 trillion) to under £12 trillion ($15.7 trillion), leaving the EU trailing the BRICS bloc of the world’s four largest nations plus South Africa whose combined GDP is over £14 trillion ($18.6 trillion).
While both Brussels and Westminster are seeking new post-Brexit trade deals with Washington, the Irish Eurosceptic believes "the UK has much better political, security and historical connections with North America which should smooth the way to a deal".
"While US relations with the UK are likely to warm considerably in the next few years, the same cannot be said for EU-US relations, which have been under strain since President Trump was elected in the USA in 2016", Bassett added.
And he warned that Ireland’s place in future trade relations was uncertain, despite its close historical ties to the US.
"Ireland has a huge interest in maintaining harmonious relations between Brussels and Washington.
"However, it is doubtful if Ireland's interest will be a major consideration for the EU Commission and its relations with Washington. It will be primarily concerned with bigger ticket items, like German car exports and that country's investment in the USA".
Bassett said that although English had become a "lingua franca" in the EU in recent years, Brexit would mean that "with only five million native English speakers in the Republic of Ireland, the English language will no longer have as strong a case to be the dominant language of the institutions".
