Mnuchin Says Hard Brexit a ‘Realistic Outcome,’ Urges Agreement
Mnuchin Says Hard Brexit a ‘Realistic Outcome,’ Urges Agreement
(Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the U.S. financial system is preparing for the U.K. to crash out of the European Union without a deal, and warned it would cause global disruptions.
“We need to be prepared for a hard Brexit as a very realistic outcome,” Mnuchin said Tuesday during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, adding that the U.S. has encouraged the U.K. and the union to find a suitable resolution.
Yet Britain’s exit from the EU looks set to be delayed by as long as a year in a blow for Theresa May that risks a destabilizing backlash at home.
European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday rejected May’s request for a brief postponement to end the U.K.’s membership, saying it would create a “rolling series of short extensions and emergency summits, creating new cliff-edge dates.”
The prospect of a lengthy extension was good news for British business after months of uncertainty. But a long delay would mark another political defeat for May, who had promised repeatedly to take the U.K. out of the EU by March 29.
To contact the reporter on this story: Saleha Mohsin in Washington at smohsin2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, John Harney
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