So where is the coronavirus crisis taking UK international relations, given an EU we're prepared to leave without a trade deal in December, increasing Conservative Party dissent over China relations, and a US actively attacking multilateral cooperation?
Who are the UK's international friends and allies now? Clearly no EU Member States, much to the horror of the likes of Sweden. Canada, Australia and New Zealand? All a long way away, all prioritising managing relations with their neighbours.
The government has a commitment that 80% of the UKs trade will be covered by Free Trade Agreement in three years. How does that work with walking away from talks with the EU (~50%)? But how does a US deal sit with UK food security or the fight against climate change?
From outside the UK our international strategy simply looks confused, asserting power we don't have, making threats that aren't credible to those much larger than us, and implausibly claiming international leadership as in free trade when actually we're raising trade barriers.
The never resolved Brexit tension between global Britain and isolationist Britain becomes ever more obvious. The most likely outcome is talk the former but be the latter. As government thinks coronavirus isn't a reason to delay Brexit transition we need to talk about this... /end
PS on a related theme...
