Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin
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Finally completing the Brexit divorce deal between the EU and the U.K. will provide much needed stability for the British economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC Saturday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a general election with a thumping majority this week and looks set to complete the first stage of Brexit at the end of January. However, three-and-a-half years of wrangling means it’s begins schedule and that delay has hurt business sentiment and investments.
Speaking to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at the Doha Forum, Mnuchin said he expects Johnson will now get his deal on Brexit done with his commanding majority in the House of Commons and said the two sides were “absolutely” moving toward trade discussions.
“My expectation is that the prime minister will now get his deal on Brexit done. Which I think is a good thing for the U.K. economy. The U.K. just needs stability on this issue,” he said.
“I’ve been hearing for too long ‘they’re in, they’re out, they’re in, they’re out’ and we’ll begin trading discussions with them. We’re very much looking forward that trading relationship,” he added.
Johnson’s Conservatives now have 365 parliamentary seats, a majority of 80 in the House of Commons. The result, which proved even more decisive than pollsters had forecast, follows a bitterly-fought and divisive election campaign.
In a tweet published Friday morning, President Donald Trump offered his congratulations to the newly-elected prime minister, describing the better-than-expected result for his friend as a “great win.”
“Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new trade deal after Brexit,” Trump said. “This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the E.U. Celebrate Boris!”
—CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this article.
