VOA常速英语:英国重返英联邦，大英帝国2.0究竟能否如愿上线？

Britain says after leaving the European Union, it is going global. On a recent visit to Uganda, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the first stop would be its former colonies.

“We are re-entering the Commonwealth, re-entering the rest of the global economy.”

That re-entry has been dubbed "Empire 2.0" in Britain.But in many former colonies, memories of British rule are at best mixed, says British lawmaker Kwasi Kwarteng,a key figure in the campaign to leave the European Union.

“The Empire has a mixed legacy.So to try and relive that past, I think, is a completely ridiculous and forlorn exercise.But what we can do is to try and use those relationships that were forged, some of them through the Empire,and then latterly through the Commonwealth.”

The British Empire’s legacy continues to be debated decades after its collapse.In South Africa, statues of the colonialist Cecil Rhodes were torn down in 2015.

Despite atrocities — such as the brutal suppression of the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya in the 1950s —Kwarteng believes the old links forged in Empire days will aid new trade deals.

“There’s a vast world out there, nearly 80 percent of global GDP, which is outside the EU.And a lot of that GDP is taken up by Commonwealth countries.”

Critics say almost half of British exports go to the European Union — 288 billion dollars’ worth every year.But exports to Africa total just 21.3 billion dollars.

To boost that trade, Britain wants quick deals with emerging economies.But African nations should be cautious, says Matt Grady of the charity Traidcraft, which advocates fair trade and global justice.

“African countries have indicated that their priorities are regional integration and cooperation.So now is not really the time for the UK to be trying to negotiate deals with African countries that will undermine those priorities.It will undermine their ability to develop their manufacturing and processing sectors.”

Brexit poses other risks.Britain imports 9.7-billion-dollars worth of goods from Africa — including produce like coffee from Kenya or wine from South Africa.

“Producers in developing countries, they don’t know what tariffs they are going to face to sell into Britain.They face uncertainty owing to that, that means the supply changes.You know, decisions are being made now for two years down the line on uncertain conditions.”

Citing that uncertainty, the head of the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of nations said this week a free trade deal with Britain should be delayed until at least six years after Brexit.

Henry Ridgwell, for VOA news, London.