Last week, the people of Great Britain voted in favor of leaving the European Union. Many theorists and reporters have concluded that what drove this decision was a desire to reclaim Britain for British citizens and to limit immigration into the nations that make up Great Britain, particularly England. England is where the referendum received the most votes in favor of leaving the E.U., in the hopes of reviving and repossessing their economy. Many Americans are intrigued with the term Brexit and have closely followed the events leading up to this vote, but what does this mean for the nation across the pond.
Shortly after the decision was broadcast across the globe, Donald Trump claimed the official Brexit as a validation for his campaign. And shockingly, this is one of the more accurate statements Trump has made since he announced his candidacy in June of last year. While at the grand opening of one of his golf courses in Scotland, Trump said “I think there are great similarities between what happened here and my campaign.” This statement holds true if we choose to believe that the driving force behind the vote of the British citizens was fear of immigrants and the idea that the countries’ many immigrants were the source of economic turmoil throughout Britain. For this reason, Donald Trump should be celebrating, because it proves that the hysteria he has built the majority of his campaign around is affecting many people, even if those who do not live in our nation.
It also has great implications for the current presidential race occurring in our nation because, in the weeks leading up to the vote, public opinion polls showed a close race, although most predicted that the citizens would vote in favor of remaining in the E.U. This could potentially foreshadow the U.S. presidential election (let’s hope not) in which people conceal their plans to vote for Trump, who has been deemed “most attuned to voters,” and then cast their vote in his favor creating results that are much different than those predicted.
According to Janet Yellen, the chief of the U.S. Central Bank, the Brexit is expected to “negatively affect financial conditions and the U.S. economy.” With Britain being a major player in the 28-country bloc, fears have arisen that other nations, especially those with strong individual economies, may follow the Brits lead and leave the Union. The dismantling of this alliance would cause much economic uncertainty, as major trade deals among the nations with the largest global economies would have to be restructured.
Almost immediately after the votes were tallied, global stocks began to decline. This could have negative impacts on the American economy, as consumers are less likely to make big investments or to buy commodities when they feel uncertain about the stability of the market. The decline of the Pound due to the decision to leave the E.U. has also caused an increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar. This may seem like a good thing, but a stronger dollar drives up the prices of American products sold outside the U.S. causing them to be less attractive to consumers. The increased strength of the dollar will most likely further the “earnings recession” that many big American corporations have been experiencing for the past three quarters.
Although the United Kingdom is over 3,000 miles away from the United States, their decision to leave the European Union will have profound impacts on the United States in the coming months. The Brexit confirmed that fear of immigrants and beliefs that immigrants take away jobs from natural born citizens exist. This decision has also created significant economic fears and has forced much economic restructuring. So if you—like Donald Trump—hadn’t heard about the Brexit, it may impact the U.S. and its citizens more than it initially appeared.
