After a tough week, British Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to look beyond the Brexit. May arrived in India on Sunday for a three-day trade visit, her first such mission since taking over the premiership in July. The visit has symbolic value, providing an indication of what the United Kingdom’s priorities will be once it departs from the European Union. But it also revealed some of the difficulties that will plague May’s government during and after the United Kingdom’s exit from the bloc.

Perhaps the most glaring problem that May encountered on her trade trip is that her administration cannot negotiate new trade deals until it has left the European Union. Since the final rupture is unlikely to take place before 2019 at the earliest, May and her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, could talk only informally about what a hypothetical trade deal between their countries might contain.

Premium + Digital Edition

Ad-free access


P 80 per month
(billed annually at P 960)
  • Unlimited ad-free access to website articles
  • Limited offer: Subscribe today and get digital edition access for free (accessible with up to 3 devices)

TRY FREE FOR 14 DAYS
See details
See details