Professor Ted Malloch suggested the doomed eurozone could face “a real problem” in the next 18 months.
In a devastating blow to the EU’s single currency, he said he would “short the euro” – taking a market position which bets on the value of a currency falling.
Professor Malloch told the BBC: “The one thing I would do in 2017 is short the euro.
“I think it is a currency that is not only in demise but has a real problem and could collapse in the coming year, year and a half.
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Donald Trump ally Ted Malloch predicted that the euro could fail within 18 months
I think it is a currency that is not only in demise but has a real problem and could collapse
Ted Malloch
“I am not the only person or economist of that point of view.
“Someone as acclaimed as Joseph Stiglitz – the famous World Bank economist – has written an entire book on this subject.”
Although not yet confirmed in the role, Professor Malloch has been widely reported as being President Trump’s desired choice for the Brussels role.
The economist and former deputy executive secretary to the United Nations in Geneva went for an interview with the President’s team at Trump Tower earlier this month.
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President Trump will meet with Theresa May on Friday to discuss UK-US relations
But he also predicted his potential ambassadorial role with the bloc could be at threat, as he predicted wholesale change and reform over the next few years.
Having been asked about the possibility of the EU-US trade deal being signed under President Trump’s watch, Professor Malloch replied: “I personally am not certain that there will be a European Union with to have such negotiations.
“Will there potentially be numerous bi-lateral with various European countries? I think the prospect, again in a changed political reality, is greater for that.”
The American added: “I think people are talking about the redefinition of the European Union, whether it is a core number of countries and a periphery that moves aside, key people that stay in the Union, those that fall away.
“These are decisions that are going to be made by European people in democratic elections over the course of the next 18 months, and some of these elections, frankly, are coming as soon as the next few months.”
Prime Minister Theresa May, on Friday, will become the first foreign leader to visit the President, exactly a week after his inauguration.
The pair are expected to discuss Nato, immigration and, most importantly, a post-Brexit deal between the two nations, with President Trump previously spoken about striking such a deal as soon as possible.
Professor Malloch said that Britain could agree a “mutually beneficial” free trade deal with America in as little as 90 days.
He continued by saying that outside the single market and customs union, the UK could bypass “the bureaucrats in Brussels”, adding that it would be “absurd” that EU leaders attempt to block negotiations between the two nations.
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Continued cooperation with the EU to tackle terrorism and international crime.
But Professor Malloch did say that Mrs May will leave the White House on Friday without a trade deal, he said: “Obviously there are things to iron out, certainly there are differences and compromises to make, but it can be done.
“There won’t be a deal signed in the White House on Friday, but there could be an agreement for a framework going forward where people are empowered to have that kind of conversations behind closed doors and it could take as little as 90 days.
“That is very positive and it sends a signal that the United States is behind Great Britain in its hour of need.”
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