DAVOS: Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday told the world’s elite that Britain is open for business despite Brexit, even as banks announce they are planning to shift jobs out of London.
May sought to reassure the World Economic Forum in Davos that Britain’s vote to quit the European Union did not signal a retreat into protectionism, as a slew of banks revealed plans to relocate staff following her announcement on Tuesday that Britain would leave the EU’s single market.
“The United Kingdom — a country that has so often been at the forefront of economic and social change — will step up to a new leadership role as the strongest and most forceful advocate for business, free markets and free trade anywhere in the world,” the prime minister told a packed hall.
It was the same venue where China’s President Xi Jinping on Tuesday delivered a clarion call for open markets and against protectionism, in the lead-up to Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president on Friday.
May added that Britain will “seek the freedom to strike new trade deals with old friends and new allies right around the world.”
Business leaders gathered in Davos, anxious for clarity on how Brexit will affect them, expressed relief that May’s negotiating strategy is taking shape — though they said the proof will be in her much-trumpeted trade deals.
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