Trade deal with Canada will be ‘straightforward’, says Trudeau
CANADA promised a post-brexit trade deal with Britain would be easy to agree, as Brussels said yesterday that UK-EU negotiations had entered a “critical” phase.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau predicted that a rollover deal with Britain to replace the Eu-canada trade agreement after Brexit will be “straightforward”.
It will form the basis of a new UK-EU deal after Britain falls out of the EUCanada deal when it leaves the transition period at the end of the year, he said, and stressed Ottawa wanted a trade deal with Brexit Britain and that it would be much simpler than the ongoing trade talks with Brussels.
Mr Trudeau was speaking at a press conference after an Eu-canada videosummit with the presidents of the European Commission and Council.
He said: “There are significant complexities that the UK is grappling with in terms of negotiating the post-brexit agreement with the European Union.
“I can highlight that it’ s fairly straightforward with Canada and we are certainly very optimistic in the ability to see things roll over smoothly.
“There have been many discussions over the past years between myself and Prime Minister Johnson and his predecessor on that seamless transition,” Mr Trudeau added.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European commission, said intensified talks with Britain, which resume today in Brussels, were in a “critical phase”.
“We’re making good progress but on two critical issues, the level playing field, and the fisheries, there we would like to see more progress,” she said.
Mrs Von der Leyen said the level playing field guarantees were the price for zero tariff access to the single market. How to construct the system with clear rules on both sides and a dispute mechanism system was a “crucial” question negotiations would delve deep into in the coming days of negotiations.
Britain had previously rejected EU demands for stricter level playing field guarantees and argued that all it wanted was a “Canada-style” trade deal with non-enforceable commitments.
The UK negotiating team arrived in Brussels yesterday, with Belgium on the verge of a coronavirus lockdown.
In London, Liz Truss, the International Trade Secretary, insisted the NHS will not be compromised for a postBrexit trade deal with the US.
Ms Truss said Britain would reject a Donald Trump-style “Britain First” approach and wanted a “values-driven free trade agenda”.
Ms Truss said: “Our red lines remain at the heart of this values- driven approach. Namely, our NHS remains off the table. Our food standards must not be undermined and British farming must benefit. And any trade deal must level-up our country.”