A deal with the EU can be reached by October but the UK is preparing for the possibility of no deal, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has said according to BBC News.
He said he would return to Brussels for talks on Thursday and strain “every sinew” to get “the best deal”.
But the government had plans in place in case talks did not end well, he told the BBC.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said there must be a “serious stepping up of negotiations” to avoid no deal.
The UK is due to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019, but the two sides have yet to agree how trade will work between the UK and the EU afterwards.
Theresa May hopes the government’s plan, detailed recently in the Brexit White Paper, will allow the two sides to reach a deal on relations by the autumn.
Downing Street said on Sunday that cabinet ministers would be promoting the plan across Europe over the summer.
Theresa May would “take the lead” by meeting the Austrian chancellor, Czech prime minister and Estonian prime minister next week.
Mrs May said: “We must step up the pace of negotiations and get on to deliver a good deal that will bring greater prosperity and security to both British and European citizens.
“We both know the clock is ticking – let’s get on with it.”
Mr Raab told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show if the “energy, ambition and pragmatism” the UK brought to negotiations was reciprocated, a deal would be done in October.
He noted that 80% of the withdrawal agreement was already settled.
And he said it was “useful” that EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier had raised questions about the prime minister’s blueprint for the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU.
“The fact Michel Barnier is not blowing it out of the water but asking questions is a good, positive sign – that’s what we negotiate on.”
You can read the article here: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-44913982
Source: BBC News
Michel Barnier on Thursday categorically ruled out a new customs arrangement put forward by the U.K. as a way to overcome the biggest obstacles to completing a withdrawal treaty.
At a news conference at the European Commission headquarters — the first alongside his new British counterpart, Dominic Raab — the EU’s chief negotiator said the bloc would not delegate the execution of its customs policy.
Barnier previously had expressed skepticism about the white paper and the customs proposal, but at Thursday’s news conference he torpedoed it.
P olitico summerizes the comments by Barnier in an article as follows.
“The EU cannot — and the EU will not — delegate the application of its customs policy and rules, VAT and excise duty collection, to a non-member who would not be subject to the EU’s governance structures,” Barnier said.
“Any customs arrangements or customs union — and I have always said that the EU is open to a customs union — must respect this principle,” Barnier said. “In any case, a customs union, which would help to reduce friction at the border, would come with our Common Commercial Policy for goods.”
“They know the rules of the single market perfectly,” Barnier said referring to Raab and May’s oft-stated intention to leave the single market. “They know the indivisibility of the four freedoms that are fundamental to the single market. And they want to leave the customs union as well. And of course they know too the key condition of that, which is being part and parcel of a strong common trade policy. These are the red lines that have been laid down.”
Here is a link to an article about the statement: https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-negotiation-trade-eu-shoots-down-theresa-mays-customs-plan/
Source: Politico
Last night EU and US leaders met in Washington for a very important discussion to dismiss the emerging trade war.
Sweden’s EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström attended the meeting together with Donald Trump and the EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Aftet the meeting a Press Confernece was held. Trump spoke first saying:
“A new phase of the relationship between the US and the EU has begun. We will work together to strengthen ties between the US and Europe populations”.
Juncker responded by saying:
“We have agreed today, and identified different areas to be exempt from taxes or duty tariffs. It was my goal and we have reached this”.
In summary, after the meeting, it can be noted that the US will not implement new import duties on passenger cars from the EU. The import duties on steel and aluminum from the EU remain, but should be “revalued”.
In addition, the US and EU will enter into negotiations to reduce tariffs on industrial goods to zero, and remove non-tariff barriers and financial support.
The United States and the EU will also work to reform the World Trade Organization WTO.
“Great to be back on track with the EU. This is a great day for a free and fair trade”
The main concern is to block gaps in WTO rules that China exploits to large state aid to Chinese companies, theft of intellectual property rights and forced technology transfer from foreign companies to Chinese.
Trumps tweeted after the meeting: ‘Great to be back on track with the EU. This is a great day for a free and fair trade’.
This is indeed a great breakthrough for EU-US trade and also a temporary stop of the increasing risks for an escalating trade war. Good news for world trade.
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