We’ve nothing to fear if we leave EU with no deal
BRITAIN has “nothing to fear” from leaving the EU without a deal, International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said yesterday.
He spoke out after figures revealed that trade with the rest of the world is far more valuable to the UK than trade with the bloc.
The UK services sector overall recorded a trade surplus of £101.1billion last year while overall exports were worth £262.3billion, said the Office for National Statistics.
Dr Fox said: “These figures show our exports growing from strength to strength.
“UK services are in high demand across the globe, with nearly two thirds going to markets outside the EU such as Japan and Saudi Arabia. It heralds a prosperous trading future for the UK.”
Gang
Giving evidence to the Commons International Trade Committee, Dr Fox said he is “not afraid” of Britain leaving the EU without a deal and warned that those seeking to rule out this option are undermining the UK’s negotiating position in Brexit talks.
The leading Cabinet Brexiteer said suggestions in Europe that the UK should be “punished” financially for quitting the EU were “the language of a gang, not the language of a club” and risked damaging the economic interests of EU citizens.
Dr Fox said he was “frustrated” by the fact that the European Council has not yet given the green light to discuss a future trade relationship. He said: “I’m very keen that we get a deal with the EU but I’m not afraid of not getting a deal.
“Those who say we want a deal at any price undermine our negotiating hand.”
According to the ONS, Britain is doing better than ever at selling services including financial packages, pensions and insurance to the rest of the world.
The country’s overall trade surplus stood at almost £21billion, with £38.5billion in total exports, in the second quarter of 2017.
The UK’s top market for services was the US which bought in £8.4billion from April to June, far more than the £2.5billion of services sold to Germany, the second largest market.
The strength of the UK economy as it approaches Brexit was also highlighted in a World Bank report which showed that it is the seventh best place on the globe to do business. Britain was 13 places above its main EU rival, Germany, while the stagnant French economy was 31st.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has announced that Britain is recruiting 50 more diplomats to “beef up” the country’s bilateral influence in the European Union after Brexit.
The Foreign Secretary said the extra envoys would cost around £8million a year.