Cameron ‘impressed’ with post-Brexit trade
FOREIGN Secretary David Cameron has given the thumbs-up to Britain’s post-Brexit trade success.
The former premier said he was “impressed” with “a lot of very good work” on free trade agreements.
Lord Cameron, who quit No10 after losing the 2016 Brexit referendum, was also “delighted” the UK joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Indo-Pacific trade bloc.
And the Remainer insisted the “heat and anger” had come out of the UK’s relationship with the European Union and they could be “friends, neighbours and partners”.
He told the Lords’ European affairs committee yesterday: “If you leave the EU, the key thing is to take advantage of the new situation you’re in.
“We’re not in the customs union, we’re not in the single market, we’re making this partnership work.
“As part of that arrangement we’re free to make these trade arrangements with the rest of the world.
“I’m delighted that we’re doing CPTPP. We’ll be one of the largest players in this new emerging bloc. We can help shape, develop and grow it. While currently it’s a small percentage of our trade, these are some of the fastest growing economies in the world.
“I think we can do that consistent with our obligations under the withdrawal agreement and we can make that work and that’s what we should be doing.”
Lord Cameron added: “Obviously there’s a sort of capacity issue about how many trade deals we can do, how quickly. But again, I’ve been impressed that actually there’s a lot of very good work that’s been done and we need to keep that up.”
He said of the EU: “It’s been interesting coming back to see how it’s working and how problems are being fixed and opportunities are being taken. I think a lot of the heat and anger has come out of the relationship. It’s now much more functional and I think it’s functioning well.”
But the peer warned against trying to reopen and “change the nature” of Britain’s post-Brexit trading agreement with Brussels.
He added: “Let’s make the most of what we’ve got, is the way I would approach it. “We’re not suddenly going to reopen free movement or go back into the customs union or any of those things.” Lord Cameron also denied that the Rwanda Bill risked a conflict with the UK’s international obligations.