Where are EU? Hunt is on for Fox’s Europe trade talks team
THERESA May now reckons she can get EU trade talks started in the New Year – but Cabinet Brexiteer Liam Fox is not being much help.
Just when we’ll need the UK’s top experts to steer us through, the International Trade Secretary is sending them elsewhere.
Research by Open Britain shows he’s only recruited 61 staff for Europe while 135 are to be stationed in Asia and 65 in North America. The think-tank says to get a good deal the UK will need large numbers of trade negotiators based in Europe. Labour’s Chris Leslie added: “Under Liam Fox our trade priorities are totally skewed. We export more to Europe than to Asia and North America combined.”
The PM has broken the logjam for starting Phase 2 negotiations on trade and a two-year transition period by agreeing around £45billion in divorce money.
She now says the status of the Irish border can only be hammered out alongside new trade arrangements. The rights of EU citizens living here are 99 per cent settled with only European Court of Justice jurisdiction after transition to be sorted.
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will offer us Norway’s single market access if we accept uncontrolled EU migration. No way, we’ll say.
Alternatively, Canada’s tariff free trade in goods is on the table. Not good enough, we’ll say.
We want Canada Plus – free trade in goods plus services, especially financial ones.