Britain could ditch Europe to join Pacific trade deal as squabbling EU leaders are set to fall out over Brexit
Experts predict Jean-Claude Juncker and Michel Barnier could lose control of Brexit
BRITAIN could reject Europe and join a trade group based in the Pacific after we quit the EU, it was reported today.
The revelation comes as EU experts warn European leaders are set to fight over the terms of Brexit trade talks.
Ministers working under Liam Fox have held discussions on joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership alongside countries including Japan and Australia.
Britain would be the only member of the TPP not to border the Pacific Ocean in a striking statement of intent about building links with new trading partners.
Other members include regional giants such as Canada, Chile and Mexico, but the US is no longer part of it after Donald Trump withdrew.
Trade minister Greg Hands said Britain could join even though the other countries negotiating the deal are thousands of miles away.
He : "Nothing is excluded in all of this.
“With these kind of plurilateral relationships, there doesn’t have to be any geographical restriction."
Last year, EU leaders united behind Brussels Eurocrats and allowed them to direct talks with Britain.
But experts now say the different leaders could turn on each other because they all want different things from trade negotiations which begin in March.
Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France region which includes major ports including Calais and Dunkirk, has revealed he is keen to preserve trade between Britain and France.
He : "We shouldn’t seek to punish the British. I don’t want post-Brexit decisions that hurt cross-border regions."
Leaders from areas which trade heavily with Britain are keen to keep close economic ties.
But in other countries, politicians are keen to damage the UK in order to steal business from Britain.
Enrico Letta, Italy's ex-prime minister, said: "Even though unity has paid off in the first phase, it will be harder to maintain.
MOST READ IN POLITICS
“We’ve reaching a point where the negotiations can no longer be kept in the sole hands of the commission experts. It’s a game with more players from now on."
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and chief negotiator Michel Barnier have previously tried to keep control of Brexit talks.
But British ministers are keen to negotiate directly with European national leaders instead.