The EU’s Chief Negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier has said that the UK cannot have the same trade deal with the EU as Canada. The EU was ready to offer an ‘ambitious partnership’ with the UK post-Brexit, but its ‘particular proximity’ meant it would be different.
This comes after the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, made a speech in Brussels calling for a ‘Canada-Free Trade Agreement-type relationship’.
The UK left the EU on Friday 31 January and is now in a transition period where the country is following the majority of the EU rules whilst a trade deal is being negotiated. The two sides are set to open talks next month.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he wanted to peruse a model similar to that of Canada’s. Under the agreement, import tariffs on most goods have been eliminated, though there are still customs and VAT checks.
The agreement took seven years to negotiate, whereas the UK has 11 months to agree a deal on our future relationship with the EU. If Mr Johnson’s desired relationship is not achieved in the limited time-frame, then the Prime Minister has reiterated that the UK would trade on the basic international terms it currently follows with Australia.
Michel Barnier added that the EU remain ‘ready to work very quickly with the UK’.