U K m ust not try to undercut the EU via Brexit – Hogan
New commissioner will lead Europe side in talks
THE UK will not get a good long-term trade deal with the EU if it tries to “undercut” Europe in world markets with lower labour and environmental standards, new EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan has warned.
In his first major speech a week after taking up the new job, he has pledged Brussels will continue to defend Irish interests as the Brexit process moves on.
The Irish commissioner will be the key EU person negotiating a new post-Brexit trade deal with London next year.
Mr Hogan told a group of business leaders in Dublin he was speaking only six days after taking up his own new responsibilities – and six days before a UK general election which will frame what happens next with Brexit.
“If there is a Conservativeled government, the likelihood of Boris Johnson’s deal going through is high. If there is a Labour-led government or a hung parliament, the likelihood of a softer Brexit, and a second referendum, is high,” the commissioner said.
But Mr Hogan also warned that Irish business must continue to prepare for the worst eventuality of a no-deal Brexit.
“We are not out of the woods yet,” he said.
“The risk of Brexit happening without a ratified deal still exists and could happen at the end of January or at the end of 2020.”
The EU commissioner also addressed election campaign claims by the UK prime minister that a long-standing UK-EU trade deal can be completed by the end of 2020. That would mean an extension of the transition period by one year or two, as provided in the London-Brussels divorce deal, would not be required.
Mr Hogan said the UK authorities should abandon speculation on time-frames and focus on the content of any new deal. He recommended widespread consultation with business, workers and other social partners, so they could get a clear idea of what kind of trade deal the UK wants.
But he noted the EU view that an EU-UK trade deal is not just about no tariffs or quotas for British goods and services. It must also involve what he termed “quality of life issues”.
“We will therefore require solid guarantees of a level playing field in relation to state aid, labour and environmental protections and taxation arrangements,” Mr Hogan said.
The new EU trade commissioner also said Brexit will be only one of the concerns for his coming five-year term. He said the prospect of a USAChina trade conflict posed a major threat to the era of freed-up world trade which underpinned billions of jobs across the world.
Mr Hogan said the beleaguered World Trade Organisation (WTO) is no “longer fit for purpose” in an integrated global economy driven by technology.
He said the EU needed to frame new trade relationships with the USA and China and help these two economic giants make more positive relationships with one another.
“We urgently need to reform the WTO to make it relevant and operational again,” he said.
Mr Hogan said there must be fundamental change in the WTO’s three key functions of making fair global trade rules, monitoring countries’ trade practices and resolving disputes.
He pledged that the EU will continue to pursue trade deals across the globe.
Trade supports one in seven jobs and every €1bn in exports supports 14,000 quality EU jobs.