Continental Drift?

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By Newsweek Editors

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Britain join the North American Free Trade Agreement? It won't happen--but that hasn't stopped Britain's chattering classes from discussing it. U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, Republican chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, will speak on U.S.-U.K. trade this week in London, and meet privately with members of the opposition Conservative Party. A spokesman says Gramm sees British entry into NAFTA as "a first step to building a bridge between North America and Europe." A member of the Tory shadow cabinet, Iain Duncan-Smith, says Gramm's visit shows that the possibility of Britain's joining NAFTA "is becoming quite a serious issue." Says who? In London, the Foreign Office says the idea of Britain in NAFTA is "barmy," as it would have to pull out of the EU entirely. End of story? Not if it's being written by Conrad Black, the Canadian media mogul who owns Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper. Black believes Britain should bolt the EU if that's necessary to get a seat at the NAFTA table. As for Britain's Euroskeptics, including virtually the whole of the Tory party, the Britain-in- NAFTA chatter--barmy or not--is a nice way of keeping the nagging subject of Britain's role in Europe very much alive.

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