Ditch our goods after Brexit at your peril, UK warns Brussels

DAVID Davis yesterday demanded that British goods are not forced off the Continent’s shelves the day after Brexit as he warned any disruption to trade would be disastrous for the EU.

The Brexit Secretary pointed out that the EU’s £250billion annual exports to the UK are more than it sells to Brazil, Russia, India and China combined.

He called for new arrangements ‘to the benefit of all’.

Mr Davis will this morning set out more detail on Britain’s negotiating position as he publishes proposals for how cross- border divorce cases, child custody battles and consumer rights problems are handled after Brexit.

Yesterday, in the Government’s latest Brexit paper, he urged Brussels to allow all goods placed on the market before the day of departure in March 2019 to continue being sold in the UK and EU without any additional requirements.

The European Commission has said goods approved by regulators in the UK and EU immediately before Brexit could have to be re-examined after the split. This could theoretically lead to mass recalls, with British officials fearing such an approach could hugely disrupt businesses on both sides of the Channel.

The regime could also mean car manufacturers whose vehicles have gone through checks in the UK would be forced to undertake costly tests again elsewhere in the EU.

In the negotiating paper, the Government said: ‘Our ambition is to seek an agreement with the EU which allows the freest and most frictionless trade possible in goods and services, to the benefit of all.

‘ We want to ensure that goods which are placed on the market before exit day can continue to be sold in the UK and EU, without any additional requirements or restrictions.

‘We also want to avoid unnecessary duplication of compliance activities that have been undertaken by businesses prior to exit. This means that where products have gone through an authorisation process prior to exit, for example a type approval for a car, this approval should remain valid in both markets after exit.’

Mr Davis said the papers being published this week provided ‘certainty and confidence in the UK’s status as an economic powerhouse after we have left the EU’.

He added: ‘We have already begun to set out what we would like to see from a future relationship on issues such as customs and are ready to begin a formal dialogue on this and other issues.’

Britain hopes the EU will agree to open formal negotiations on a trade deal in October. European Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein said publishing position papers was ‘a positive step’.

But Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar said he did not expect the EU to approve starting trade talks as planned in October. He told The Guardian: ‘There are so many difficult topics on the table.’

Downing Street said it was confident of making enough progress on citizens’ rights, the financial settlement and borders for the European Council to give the green light to the second phase of Brexit negotiations in October.

Germany’s finance ministry has warned in a report that its economic success is at risk if Brexit goes wrong.