"We want to put you at the top of the list": Washington seduces London on the eve of Brexit

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London on Thursday, January 30, on the eve of Brexit.

He dangled the "huge benefits" of a rapprochement between the two countries and multiplied the signs of benevolence, calling "Dom" his counterpart Dominic Raab and describing as "fantastic" his half hour spent with Boris Johnson.

He tweeted that he was "happy to be with the best ally" in the United States.

Above all, he was reassuring about American intentions for the post-Brexit period, of which Donald Trump is an enthusiastic supporter: "We want to put the United Kingdom at the top of the list".

Always great to catch up with #UK Prime Minister @BorisJohnson. The UK is on the brink of historic change, and I'm glad to stand #sidebyside with our greatest Ally to continue strengthening our robust ties and working together on mutual priorities. pic.twitter.com/PVqc8CmsMq

For the United Kingdom, a delicate period is opening to rebuild relations, particularly of trade, with the bloc of 27 Europeans, but also the other great powers, the United States in the lead.

Donald Trump has dangled a "magnificent" bilateral trade agreement, which makes the British opposition fear a reduction in health standards and a sale of public health service to pharmaceutical companies.

Points of contention

This Herculean task, of which London has made a symbol of his regained freedom, is however complicated by a series of disagreements which have accumulated in recent times.

Among these points of contention is in particular Huawei's access to the British 5G network, granted on a limited basis Tuesday by London, despite warnings from Washington, which considers the equipment supplier too close to the Chinese government and points to the risks of 'spying.

Other subjects have created tensions, such as the British tax plan on digital giants, differences of opinion on the Iranian nuclear issue, or London's desire to have a wife of an American diplomat implicated in a fatal accident in London. England.

"It is with the closest friends that we have the most frank conversations," insisted Dominic Raab. "The ocean of subjects on which we agree is much more important than occasional disagreements."

With AFP

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