DUBLIN: Britain should not wait for the results of the US presidential election to determine its next move in post-Brexit trade talks, a top American government official warned on Thursday.

Reports in British media claim London has put the brakes on crunch negotiations with the European Union until results of Tuesday’s US poll come in.

There are suggestions a “no-deal” outcome could weigh more favourably with US President Donald Trump than his challenger Joe Biden, paving the way to a profitable transatlantic accord.

But US special envoy for Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney warned: “I would discourage the British government from waiting to determine the outcome of the election.”

Mulvaney, a former acting chief of staff in the Trump administration, said the election outcome may not be resolved until “late November, early December”.

A UK-EU trade deal, which has been deadlocked in key areas such as fishing rights and competition rules, needs to be in place so it can come into effect on Jan 1.

Both sides this week said there remained serious “divergences” in gloomy statements after the latest round of talks broke up in Brussels.

With the clock ticking, it could be “self-defeating” for Britain to stall, Mulvaney told the Dublin-based Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) via video link.

Earlier on Thursday British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said reports that London was waiting to see what happens in the United States were “simply untrue”.

“We have said on a number of occasions that time is in short supply and we really need to be making more progress in bridging the gaps which remain between the UK and the EU,” he told reporters.

Britain left the EU in January following a seismic 2016 referendum decision to sever ties with the continental bloc after nearly 50 years of integration.

Under a withdrawal deal, a transition period which maintains the status quo will expire on Dec 31.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2020