Britain ready for no-deal Brexit

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday (Saturday in Manila) that as the European Union Summit in Brussels refused to offer London a Canada-style deal, Britain will prepare to embrace a no-trade deal scenario.

Johnson made the response following the EU Summit discussions on Brexit last Thursday. EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he would continue intensive talks in the coming weeks and the EU hopes to reach a deal with Britain, but not at any price.

In a no-deal scenario, the United Kingdom would immediately leave the EU with no agreement about the “divorce” process.

Overnight, the UK would leave the single market and customs union — arrangements designed to help trade between EU members by eliminating checks and tariffs (taxes on imports).

No-deal Brexit also means immediately leaving EU institutions such as the European Court of Justice and Europol, its law enforcement body.

Membership of dozens of EU bodies that govern rules on everything from medicines to trademarks would end. And the UK would no longer contribute to the EU budget —currently about £9 billion a year.

To avoid a no-deal Brexit at the end of October, the UK government must pass the Brexit divorce plan into law, obtain another extension from the EU or cancel Brexit.

Johnson was forced to write a Brexit extension letter to the EU after MPs failed to approve a Brexit revised deal by October 19.

However, the deadline will only be extended if all the other EU members agree to one.

Opponents of no deal say it would damage the economy and lead to border posts between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Johnson said Britain wanted nothing more complicated than a Canada-style relationship. But to judge by the latest EU summit in Brussels, that won’t work for the EU because they want the continued ability to control Britain’s legislative freedom and fisheries.

“And given that they have refused to negotiate seriously for much of the last few months, and given that this summit appears explicitly to rule out a Canada-style deal, I have concluded that we should get ready for Jan. 1 [2021] with arrangements that are more like Australia’s based on simple principles of global free trade,” the prime minister said.

The Australia-style arrangement is a euphemism for failure to reach a free trade agreement with the EU, which means the Britain-EU trade will fall back on World Trade Organization rules in 2021.

He called on British businesses, haulers and travelers to get ready since there are only 10 weeks until the end of the transition period due on Dec. 31, 2020.

Johnson said Britain is willing to discuss the practicalities with the EU where a lot of progress has already been made, on such issues as social security, aviation, nuclear cooperation and so on.

“But for whatever reason it is clear from the summit that after [more than] 45 years of membership they are not willing — unless there is some fundamental change of approach — to offer this country the same terms as Canada,” he said.

He said Britain will prepare to embrace the Australia- style arrangement with complete confidence, adding that Britain will prosper mightily as an independent free trading nation, controlling its own borders and fisheries, and setting its own laws.

Prior to the EU Summit, Johnson held a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. Both leaders had said an agreement needs to be struck in October to ensure there is enough time for ratification.