May 2022...date we
BRITAIN’S transition to full independence on leaving the EU must be completed by the next general election, Liam Fox said yesterday.
In a warning shot to Cabinet ministers seeking to put the brakes on Brexit, the International Trade Secretary insisted the proposed period of adjustment after the UK’s official departure in March 2019 cannot be extended beyond May 2022.
He spoke out ahead of the first meeting of a UK-US working group today which will pave the way for a new trans-Atlantic trade deal.
Dr Fox’s intervention follows a furious row within the Cabinet over Chancellor Philip Hammond’s demand for a temporary “implementation period” after leaving the EU.
Many Brussels rules – including free movement for EU migrants – are still expected to be in force in Britain during that time.
Ministers fear the proposal is an attempt by former Remain supporters to keep links with Brussels, possibly indefinitely.
And while all ministers last week agreed to a Brexit transition period, Dr Fox set down a key “red line” by demanding a final deadline is set.
Speaking on BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show, Dr Fox said: “I think we would want to get it out of the way before the election.
“I don’t think people would want to have it dragging on. But I think that it’s perfectly reasonable to have a transition that makes it as smooth as possible. I think that’s what businesses would want us to have in Britain, and I think that’s actually what our investors abroad would also want to see.”
He said he had no “ideological” objection to a transition period to smooth Britain’s exit from the EU as long as it was for a finite period of about two years.
“Frankly, having waited for over 40 years to leave the European Union, 24 months would be a rounding area. Whether that’s 23, whether that’s 25 is not a huge deal,” he said.
“It’s about the practical issues we would face about getting, for example, any new immigration system into place.” But he insisted any transition had to be “time-limited and limited in its scope”.
“Would we be able to negotiate our own trade agreements during that transition period? Because if not, we wouldn’t be able to take full advantage of the freedoms available to us when we leave the EU,” he said.
“So there’s still a discussion to be had, but I don’t think that there’s any great ideological blockage on the concept of a transition or an implementation period.”
Dr Fox will today hold talks in Washington DC with US trade ambassador Robert Lighthizer about strengthening trade and investment between the two countries.
US President Donald Trump recently promised to sign a new trade deal with the UK “very quickly”.
The UK-US working group will meet for two days to prepare the ground for that deal, which can only be signed once Britain leaves the EU.
Trade between the two countries is already worth more than £150billion a year. Estimates suggest it could grow by £40billion once the UK is free of EU tariffs and regulations.
In Washington, Dr Fox will also meet US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and members of Congress. He is