Trade deal ‘there for the taking’ but it is up to EU says Raab

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said a trade deal with Brussels is “there for the taking” as the government looked to step up pressure on the European Union to give way on the remaining sticking points.

Mr Raab said the negotiations had been “boiled down to two outstanding bones of contention” – control of UK fishing waters and taxpayer support for businesses – and urged the EU to come to an agreement. His comments followed an interview in the Mail on Sunday with Lord (David) Frost in which he said the government was not “scared” of walking away from the talks without a deal – sentiments echoed by Mr Raab.

Lord Frost is due to hold another round of key negotiations in London with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, this week as they look to agree terms before the autumn in order to have a deal signed off when the transition period comes to an end on December 31. Mr Raab, speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, said the UK could not accept being controlled by the bloc’s state aid rules after Brexit, and accused the EU of “double standards” in its attempt to have Britain agree to terms beyond those in free trade agreements it has ratified in the past.

“We’ve actually got the issues boiled down to two outstanding bones of contention,” he said.

“There is a good deal there for the

EU; we’d love to do that free trade agreement – and if not, we’ll fall back on Australian-style rules.

“I think this week is an important moment for the EU to really effectively recognise that those two point of principles are not something we can just haggle away – they are the very reasons we are leaving the EU, but we want a positive relationship and the arm of friendship and goodwill is extended.

“It is up to the EU to decide whether they want to reciprocate.”

Mr Raab admitted to Times Radio that there was still an “economic debate” raging in government about any future state aid policy, with the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, possibly requiring “more significant intervention in some areas” from ministers than Conservative politicians have previously accepted.

But he added that the EU could “rest assured” that the UK would “adhere to global rules” in terms of its competition policy in order to monitor state aid levels.