One of the promised advantages of leaving the EU was that it would allow Britain to forge its own path in the world. With the re-election of Donald Trump, charting an independent route forward became more complicated.
Brexit has already left the UK adrift between American and EU trade and regulatory regimes — reluctant to tack too far one way or the other. Now the government is bracing itself for stark strategic choices on pivotal issues ranging from carbon pricing and AI regulation to trade tariffs when the president-elect enters the Oval Office in January.
Ministers and officials wonder whether Trump’s return could force the UK to make a decision — either to cleave to Washington or to veer towards Brussels — or whether Britain can still attempt to chart a middle path on a range of policy flashpoints.