Davis says Brexit deal can be done after Fox accuses EU of ‘blackmail’
David Davis has insisted he is still optimistic about striking a Brexit deal despite his Cabinet colleague Liam Fox claiming the EU was trying to blackmail the UK.
The International Trade Secretary went on the offensive over the EU’S insistence that the so-called Brexit “divorce bill” must be agreed before talks move on to trade and a possible post-brexit transition phase.
A third round of negotiations in Brussels finished on Thursday with the EU saying there had been no progress on key issues, with talks stymied by the gulf between the two sides over a settlement that could cost up to £80 billion.
Speaking from Japan, where he has been leading a delegation of 15 UK business leaders, Mr Fox denied it was time for the UK to name its price in order to clear the deadlock.
“We can’t be blackmailed into paying a price on the first part,” he said.
“We think we should begin discussions on the final settlement because that’s good for business, and it’s good for the prosperity both of the British people and of the rest of the people of the European Union.”
Mr Davis tried to strike a more positive tone in a speech to the US Chambers of Commerce in Washington DC yesterday, saying the UK’S “overarching aim” was to secure a “successful future partnership” with the EU that delivers the “most seamless and frictionless trade in goods and services possible”.
The Brexit Secretary added: “There are many that doubt this is possible but when I spoke to my European counterpart Michel Barnier I said to him once: ‘The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity, the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty’. “And as ever on that front I am a determined optimist in this – we will get to those opportunities.
“Because fundamentally I believe that a good deal is in the interests of both the United Kingdom and the European Union and of the entire global community.”