New Brexit crisis looms
LONDON: Brexit trade talks plunged into fresh crisis yesterday after Britain warned the European Union it could undercut the divorce deal it signed unless the bloc agrees to a free trade deal by October 15.
In one of the most startling turns of the fouryear Brexit saga, Britain is reportedly planning new legislation to override parts of January’s Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, potentially jeopardising the treaty and creating frictions in Northern Ireland.
Sections of the internal market Bill are expected to ‘‘eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement’’ in areas including state aid and Northern Ireland customs, the Financial
Times newspaper said, citing three people familiar with the plans.
EU diplomats were aghast, cautioning that such a step would tarnish Britain’s global prestige and heighten chances of a tumultuous EU exit on December 31.
Britain has set a deadline of October 15 to strike a deal.
‘‘If we can’t agree by then, then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on,’’ Prime Minister Boris Johnson was to say today, according to his office.
Britain left the EU on January 31, but talks on a new trade deal before the end of a statusquo transition arrangement in December have snagged on state aid rules and fishing.
Without a deal, nearly $US1 trillion in trade between Britain and the EU could be thrown into uncertainty, including rules on everything from car parts and medicines to fruit and data.
The reported plan to undermine the Withdrawal Agreement — disclosed on the eve of new talks in London — was condemned by parties on both sides of the Irish border and elicited surprise in Brussels.
‘‘If the UK chose not to respect its international obligations, it would undermine its international standing. Who would want to agree trade deals with a country that doesn’t implement international treaties? It would be a desperate and ultimately selfdefeating strategy,’’ an EU diplomat said.