![](\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/GettyImages-1068711954-714x476.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nThe United States has finally woken up to Brexit \u2014 and it doesnt like what it sees.<\/p>\n
In Europe, Brexit has dragged on for so long that even U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has warned theres a chance it might never happen.<\/p>\n
But on the other side of the Atlantic, where there are more immediate political obsessions, the suddenly real possibility Britain could crash out of the European Union and put a dent in the global economy, has finally made folks notice: Brexit is a thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike everything,\u201d said a senior Senate foreign policy aide, \u201cyou start to pay attention when you finally get close to crisis. And were finally starting to get close to crisis. So people are now paying attention more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, Britain is less than 100 days away from its scheduled EU exit on March 29, but has still not finalized a plan for how to pull off its departure after two-and-a-half years of debate. The looming disarray of a no-deal Brexit has unsettled U.S. policymakers and industry leaders who are inextricably linked with their U.K. counterparts on issues as diverse as tracking terrorists, shuttling Facebook data across the Atlantic and making a pitstop at Londons Heathrow airport.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Demonstrators for and against Brexit protest opposite the Houses of Parliament in London on December 5, 2018 | Ben Stansall\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are listening, the problem is no one here really knows what the hell to do,\u201d the aide continued. \u201cThe Brits dont know what to do, so how can we possibly contribute to it? People are interested. They are following. But they are not entirely sure yet where to lean in. The reality is this is an internal British political issue and until they figure out how to get past that, were going to be where we are at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attention began building last month after May and her EU counterparts reached a deal on a Brexit divorce treaty. Major U.S. media outlets published primers \u2014 like CNNs \u201cThe non-Brits guide to Brexit (because it affects you too<\/a>)\u201d \u2014 to help audiences that had not even realized the U.K. was quitting the EU, let alone had ever heard of the \u201cbackstop\u201d provision on the Ireland border. President Donald Trumps comment<\/a> was it seemed a \u201cgreat deal for the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, Mays decision to postpone a December vote on a Brexit deal that she was sure to lose in the House of Commons pushed the issue onto the U.S. front pages.<\/p>\n The New York Times last week even produced a podcast episode \u2014 Waiting for Brexit<\/a> \u2014 exploring how Britains path forward remains unclear \u201cnearly three years since Britain voted.\u201d (Well, its not quite two-and-a-half years. But whos counting? It feels like forever.)<\/p>\n And with Christmas approaching, it was clear Brexit had truly arrived in America. In a skit on Saturday Night Live<\/a> featuring Matt Damon as David Cameron, Kate McKinnon as a doddering May receives three Christmas gift-boxes filled with feces. Gross, but cmon, no one has ever accused SNL of British subtlety.<\/p>\n \nIn the U.S., there has been relatively little attention to what the severing of air links could mean for passengers transiting to Continental Europe.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The slow dawning Brexit realization, and the recent step-up in contingency planning, is all the more remarkable because the U.S. is perhaps more exposed to Brexit fallout than any country outside of Europe.<\/p>\n Not only do nearly all major American financial firms have a sizeable footprint in London, but the U.S., for linguistic, cultural and historical reasons, uses the U.K. as its primary gateway to Europe. On a wide array of public policy and business issues, including intelligence and security, trade, transportation, data connectivity and financial services, America has relied heavily on London as its route to Brussels.<\/p>\n American officials and industry leaders warned that a \u201chard Brexit,\u201d in which Britain severs ties with the EUs single market and customs union, would be upend each of these services.<\/p>\n \u201cWere concerned that a hard Brexit would have an immediate and significant impact on the global financial system, including U.S. banks, which account for between 40 to 60 percent of activity in the global derivatives markets,\u201d J. Christopher Giancarlo, the chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates derivatives, said in a presentation in October to the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council, which oversees U.S. markets.<\/p>\n On December 19, the FSOC for the first time listed \u201cBrexit\u201d<\/a> as a potential systemic risk to the economy, noting that a no-deal Brexit in particular would disrupt contracts and international financial flows, as well as generally deteriorate confidence in the economy.<\/p>\n The European Commission, in its emergency contingency plan for a no-deal Brexit published on Wednesday<\/a>, confirmed Giancarlos fears \u2014 focusing on derivatives as the one major area in financial services that needs a safety net.<\/p>\n Still, despite such warnings by policy and regulatory insiders, many politicians seem to be just cluing in to the potential risks.<\/p>\n A hard Brexit could disrupt the global financial system, including many American banks | Daniel Leal-Olivas\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n In Europe, it is widely understood that Brexit could wreak havoc on the airline industry, disrupting the travel habits of millions. While the U.S. aviation industry is keenly aware of this, there has been relatively little attention on Capitol Hill to what the severing of air links could mean for passengers transiting to Continental Europe.<\/p>\nSizeable footprint<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/GettyImages-1009578294-714x476.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n