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LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed on Thursday (December 10) to make an “extra effort” to strike a Brexit trade deal, but directed his government to prepare for Britain to exit the European Union single market by late of this year.
The sadness was deepened by the prolonged Brexit saga after Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during a combative dinner in Brussels, declared Sunday’s deadline to decide whether to keep talking or surrender.
Johnson stressed that he wanted his negotiators “to go ahead and we will go the extra mile” to strike a last-minute deal, and said he was ready to travel back to Brussels, as well as Paris or Berlin, to get over it. the line.
But speaking after a rare nightly cabinet meeting, the Conservative leader said his ministers “agreed very strongly with me that the deal on the table is not right for the UK at this time.”
“So what I told the cabinet tonight is to go ahead and make those preparations” to not reach an agreement, he said.
The pound has plummeted in currency markets as traders adjust to the looming possibility that after five decades of integration between Britain and continental Europe, inter-channel trade will again be subject to tariffs and quotas in the year. New.
Britain left the EU on January 31, but a stalled transition period, under which it remains subject to the bloc’s rules pending any new deal, ends on the night of December 31.
‘PUNISHMENT’
Without a post-Brexit deal, Britain’s trade with its biggest market will go forward under the lowered rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), or Australian terms, as Johnson prefers to call them for public consumption.
“We are not going to stop the talks, we will continue to negotiate, but seeing where we are at, I think it is vital that everyone prepare now for that Australian option,” Johnson said.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen published a backup plan to protect air travel, among other things, if Britain leaves the union without a trade deal. (Photo: AFP / Tolga Akmen)
He accused the EU of changing targets in the last fortnight by reviving demands for “equivalence”, meaning Britain would be obliged to follow future regulatory rules set by Brussels to prevent either party from gaining a competitive advantage.
Refusal would mean that Britain will face “penalties, sanctions, tariffs or whatever,” he said.
The other big issue remains future access for EU members to Britain’s rich fishing waters, Johnson noted.
“After many years of voting to leave the EU, we still would not have control of our waters and that is not good. Therefore, the cabinet strongly agreed that we are not really there yet,” he said.
Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost and his EU counterpart Michel Barnier resumed talks in Brussels on Thursday, despite growing pessimism.
OBJECTIVE CONTINGENCIES
With nerves on both sides of the English Channel, von der Leyen’s sketch of a backup plan to protect the road, air transport and fishing rights was seen as a warning of “no deal”.
Although talks were still taking place, he said there was no “guarantee” that an agreement could be reached before January 1 given the tight deadline.
Several EU members, especially France, have lobbied the European Commission and Barnier to take a harder line and publish the contingency plan to show Britain that they are ready for a “no deal”.
The bloc’s executive commission called the plan “a set of targeted contingency measures” that would come to an end if an agreement is reached or after a specified period.
An import jam at container ports in England has delayed deliveries of household appliances, household items and construction supplies, as well as holiday stocks. (Photo: AFP / Justin Tallis)
Basic air transport will continue for six months as long as Great Britain agrees to reciprocate, as will access for road transport.
The interim fisheries regulation would continue until the end of 2021, but provides for “continued reciprocal access by EU and UK vessels to each other’s waters.”
The Johnson government, which raised hopes for a breakthrough earlier this week with a separate agreement governing trade in Northern Ireland, vowed only to study the proposals while reiterating its demands that Brussels respect UK sovereignty.
‘TERRIBLE DISRUPTION’
Many companies are horrified to be forced to wait to find out what rules will be in place in three weeks and accuse the government of not planning properly. Increased congestion at key seaports is seen as a sign of things to come.
On Wednesday, Japanese automaker Honda suspended production at its Swindon plant, west of London, due to a shortage of components.
“I think there will be a terrible disruption in January,” said James Sibley, director of international affairs for the Federation of Small Business.
“That will continue to be the case after the transition period ends, whether with a free trade agreement or otherwise.”
Johnson, however, insisted that the UK “will prosper enormously” if necessary without a deal with the EU. “And there are all kinds of incredible opportunities for this country.”
