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The Trade Secretary was asked to disclose the commitments made by UK Brexit negotiator David Frost in order to reach a trade deal with the EU before the end of the year. Sky News anchor Kay Burley criticized: “There are many people who gave you, the Government, the mandate in the last elections to push us to leave the European Union.
“The Irish say that is happening.
“We are told that the French have reportedly engaged in fishing.
“What have we committed to?”
But in an attempt to sidestep the question, Mr Sharma replied: “Well, we have already left the European Union. We did so earlier this year.
“What we are doing is coming out of the transition period at the end of this year.
“What I’m not going to do is give a continuous comment.”
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The Sky News host was furious: “Why not? They represent the British people!
“You’re doing it on our behalf. Why is it a secret? We should know what’s going on!”
“I hope we end a free trade agreement,” Sharma replied.
“We have made progress, but there is still some way to go and we must ensure that the EU understands that the UK is a sovereign nation and that is the foundation on which our agreement with the EU is built going forward.”
It comes as Boris Johnson has warned that it is “not at all certain” that the UK will be able to reach a trade agreement with Brussels after Brexit in time for the end of the year.
The Prime Minister briefed the Cabinet, meeting by conference call, on the latest negotiations and told ministers that time was now “very short”.
Talks continued this week in Brussels between the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and his British counterpart, Lord Frost.
However, with the hopes of a breakthrough coming this week, it is unclear whether the two sides will be prepared to continue talking until next week if there is still no deal.
The current Brexit transition period ends at the end of the year, when the UK will finally leave the single market and customs union, and any deal would have to be ratified by both the UK and European parliaments before then.
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In London, officials tried to downplay reports that Lord Frost had told Johnson that he could expect to get a deal early next week.
The prime minister told the cabinet that while he was still “willing” to reach an agreement, he would not compromise with the “fundamental principles” of the UK.
He said there are still “major issues” to be resolved, most notably over future fishing rights and so-called “level playing field” rules on state aid.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The prime minister said his position has not changed: the UK is eager to secure a deal with the EU, but not at the cost of our basic principles on sovereignty and control over our laws, borders , money and our fish.
“Major issues remain, particularly in so-called level playing field and in fisheries. We are working hard to find solutions that fully respect UK sovereignty, but it is not certain that a deal is possible and time is now too short .
“The prime minister said that if we cannot find suitable compromises with our European friends, we will leave the transition period on Australia’s terms on January 1.
“The prime minister said he was incredibly confident that the UK would prosper with or without a free trade agreement with the EU.”
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