Reverse Brexit? You’re dreaming, says Fox

Trade talks begin with the US

INTERNATIONAL TRADE Secretary Liam Fox has insisted Brexit opponents are “dreaming” if they think the process can be reversed as international economists downgraded prospects for the UK economy.

Dr Fox urged Remainers to accept the result of the referendum and help secure the best outcome for the UK rather than seek to “thwart” Brexit as he visited Washington for trade talks.

His visit coincided with the International Monetary Fund forecasting the UK economy will grow by 1.7 per cent this year, down from April’s two per cent prediction.

Remain supporters seized on the figures as evidence of the damage Brexit could do to the economy.

Dr Fox, a staunch Brexiteer, said: “Those who are still intent on trying to thwart the process, or seem to hope that something will magically appear that will change the referendum results, they are dreaming.”

Answering questions following a speech at the American Enterprise Institute conservative think-tank, Dr Fox said it would be “optimistic” to think a free-trade deal with the European Union could be concluded by the time of Brexit in March 2019 but Ministers were supportive of a transitional deal so that businesses would not face a cliff-edge

change in the rules. There was a “growing consensus” in Cabinet for an “implementation” phase, which would see the UK voluntarily keep some of the EU’s laws and rules, he said. But he rejected Brussels’ demands for the European Court of Justice to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK after Brexit, saying it was a “very strange view of jurisprudence”.

Mr Fox’s visit saw him become embroiled in a row over whether any trade agreement would open up British markets to US agricultural products including controversial chlorine-washed chickens.

Asked if he would feel comfortable eating a chlorine-washed chicken, Dr Fox said: “In a debate which should be about how we make our contribution to global liberalisation and the increased prosperity of both the UK, the US and our trading partners, the complexities of those – the continuity agreements, the short-term gains that we may make, the opportunities we have and our ability to work jointly towards both a free-trade agreement and WTO liberalisation – the British media are obsessed with chlorinewashed chickens, a detail of the very end stage of one sector of a potential free trade agreement. I say no more than that.”

The IMF said growth had exceeded expectations in Germany, France and Spain and said its UK forecast was based on a positive outcome to Brexit talks.

AS INTERNATIONAL Trade Secretary Liam Fox arrived in Washington for talks with US trade representatives, he described the meeting as “the start of the next chapter in our special relationship”.

Though European Union rules stipulate that the UK cannot sign a deal until after it has left the EU, the discussions will pave the way for a future potential free trade agreement. As a single country, the United States is the UK’s largest trading partner and Dr Fox was upbeat, talking about this ‘unprecedented opportunity’ to cement the economic bond between the two countries.

However, not everyone shares his optimistic outlook. While Dr Fox was in the US the uncertainty surrounding the UK’s economy deepened as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its growth forecast for the UK after a weakerthan-expected economic performance.

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the organisation said it expects Britain’s economy to grow by 1.7 per cent, down from its 2 per cent prediction in April. It’s not the news Dr Fox and Theresa May would have wanted to hear and contrasts with countries such as Germany, France and Spain, where growth has exceeded expectations.

However, nothing has really changed. It remains imperative that the Government secures the best possible deal with its EU counterparts and lays the groundwork for similarly productive deals around the world.

Last year Barack Obama said the UK would be “at the back of the queue” if it quit the EU, and while the former US President’s comments were ill-advised and shown to be patently untrue, we cannot expect complex trade negotiations to go without a hitch.

Compromises will have to be made if this is to be a prosperous new chapter in our ‘special relationship’ with the United States, and the same applies to our EU talks.