Biden has Irish heritage and would gain more economically from agreeing trade deals with the European Union first rather than the U.K.
Britain’s negotiations with the European Union (EU) over the Brexit deal and future relationships were said to be delayed over fishing quotas but the real reason, a number of sources have told Newsweek, was waiting for the U.S. election to conclude. With Brexit negotiations set to conclude before the end of 2020 and before Joe Biden takes office, what happens now Britain’s « special relationship » with the U.S. might not be as special to Biden as rebuilding global ties? Trump, a man who called Brexit « a good thing » and who saw the role of U.S. ambassador to the EU as a part-time one, is on his way out and Biden, a committed europhile and ally of both French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel from his time as vice-president, is on his way in. For Britain, this moves the country from a strong negotiating position with promises of U.S. free trade deals ahead of the EU, to a position of relative weakness. The deadline for an agreement was set at October 15 by the U.K. and the end of October by the EU. Both of those deadlines have now passed. The unmissable deadline—at least for now—is December 31, when the U.K. will leave the transition agreement—with or without a deal. There are a number of issues remaining in negotiations, primarily around making sure the U.K. and the EU operate on a level playing field and existing commitments are maintained. However, two issues have remained the biggest sticking points—the border on the island of Ireland and the fishing industry. The Internal Markets Bill, a proposal by the U.K. government to change the law and allow goods to move easily between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. after Brexit, would break international law. It has been roundly criticized by European leaders. The border on the island of Ireland, protected by the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to the countries, is potentially under threat with these amendments.
