Boris Johnson’s government has said the UK will reject any trade deal with the EU that includes “high alignment” on rules with the bloc and any future role for the European Court of Justice, according to the Financial Times.
Boris Johnson is reported to have become “privately infuriated” with what he sees as the EU’s attempts to frustrate a comprehensive free trade deal, the Sunday Telegraph revealed.
Dominic Raab, UK foreign secretary, said “the issue of alignment” is “not even in the negotiating room”. He added that agreeing to such an arrangement would “defeat the point of Brexit”. “We are taking back control of our laws so we’re not going to have high alignment with the EU,” he told Sky News. “I can reassure our friends and partners that we will not be insisting that they align with our rules as a price for a free trade deal with the UK, that’s not the way free trade deals are done globally.”The Prime Minister believes Brussels has unilaterally been “changing the terms” of the deal he agreed last year, when both sides set out to work towards an ambitious and deep trade agreement.
A government source said: “There are only two likely outcomes in negotiation – a free trade deal like Canada or a looser arrangement like Australia – and we are happy to pursue both.” As a result the UK is no longer wedded to a Canada-style agreement, in what would be a major hardening in the Government’s Brexit strategy. An Australian-style deal would allow both sides to cherry pick which areas of the economy they can agree on, and leave the rest to World Trade Organisation rules.
Downing Street negotiators are now willing to pursue a much “looser” trade deal while simultaneously signing agreements with countries that make up 13 per cent of the world’s GDP.
In a speech to business leaders, ambassadors and think tank representatives in London, he will say the UK must be treated as an “equal” and make clear there will be “no alignment, no jurisdiction of the European courts, and no concessions” with Brussels.
The speech will come just as EU leaders set out their draft strategy ahead of a tense 11 months of negotiations before the post-Brexit implementation period agreed between London and Brussels comes to an end on Dec 31.
Brussels insists that the level playing field is justified by the extent of the market access foreseen in the political declaration, including tariff-free and quota-free trade in goods, as well as extensive regulatory co-operation.
The declaration commits Britain to “uphold the common high standards” in place at the end of the transition period in areas such as environmental and social policy. Paris and other EU capitals have called for the bloc to make more far reaching demands, saying that the UK should stay in synch with changes to EU law — something known in Brussels jargon as “dynamic alignment”.
