Boris Johnson to spark stand-off with EU by declaring Britain wants Canada-style free trade deal
THE PM will spark a stand-off with the EU today, declaring Britain will not accept their rules as the price of a trade deal.
Boris Johnson will say Britain wants a Canada-style free trade deal.
And if the EU refuses, then Britain will be happy to follow Australia’s much looser trading relationship.
That would leave both sides able to cherry pick areas they can find agreement on while leaving the rest to World Trade Organisation rules. As he fires the opening salvo in the next phase of talks, Mr Johnson will deliver an upbeat message.
He will say: “In either case, I have no doubt that Britain will prosper.”
He will use a major speech to set out his red lines.
EU DEMANDS
At the same time, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier will publish the bloc’s own negotiating guidelines.
Exposing the gulf between the two sides, Mr Barnier is expected to demand “level-playing field” restrictions to ensure Britain does not undercut EU rules.
Mr Johnson hopes that by showing his willingness to walk away from trade talks Brussels will drop its red lines of demanding Britain remain tied to its regulations.
He will point out that Britain’s standards on the areas the EU wants us to sign up to are already higher than most European countries.
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The EU does not require Canada to stick to EU rules so neither should Britain, Mr Johnson will say. The Canada-EU deal has eliminated 98 per cent of trade barriers.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Sunday said that continuing to follow minimum EU standards would “defeat the point of Brexit”.
Mr Johnson will say: “We have made our choice: we want a free trade agreement, similar to Canada’s. But in the very unlikely event that we do not succeed, then our trade will have to be based on our existing Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.
Ex-EU chief Donald Tusk delivered Mr Johnson a boost by saying a year “is enough to finalise our negotiations”.
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