Boris Johnson ‘will tell the EU that Britain will choose a no-deal Brexit if trade talks stall’

Boris Johnson ‘will tell the EU that Britain will choose a no-deal Brexit if trade talks stall’

  • Threat comes despite WTO warning it could slow UK recovery from coronavirus 
  • PM wants tariff-free access but insists the country can thrive under WTO terms 
  • A series of talks will then be held at official level for five weeks from June 29
  • Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Boris Johnson will warn the EU today Britain will choose a no-deal Brexit if a trade agreement is not struck by the end of next month.

The threat comes despite the head of the World Trade Organisation suggesting that doing so could slow the UK’s economic recovery from coronavirus, and that a deal similar to current arrangements would be better for jobs.

WTO director-general Roberto Azevêdo highlighted agriculture and the car industry as two of the biggest victims if a deal could not not be struck, due to the heavy tariffs they would be subject to under trade rules.

Boris Johnson, pictured at Westfield shopping centre yesterday, will warn the EU today Britain will choose a no-deal Brexit if a trade agreement is not struck by the end of next month

The Prime Minister still wants an agreement that keeps tariff-free access to EU markets but insists Britain would still be able to thrive under WTO terms, which will automatically apply if nothing is rubber-stamped by the end of the year, according to The Times. 

Mr Johnson will be joined today by Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove and chief negotiator David Frost on a video call with Charles Michel, president of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and David Sassoli, president of the European parliament.

That will then be followed by a series of weekly talks at official level for five weeks from June 29, looking at detailed technical issues.

It is hoped that they will, for the first time in these negotiations, include face-to-face meetings, with both sides acknowledging that the remote discussions, due to the coronavirus epidemic, have gone as far as they can.

Four rounds of video conferencing discussions made only limited progress with a series of major obstacles still to be overcome.

Mostly notably the two sides remain far apart on the issues of future access to UK fisheries and the so-called ‘level playing field’, the extent to which Britain is required to follow EU rules and standards in return for access to the single market.

The threat comes despite WTO director-general Roberto Azevêdo, pictured, suggesting that doing so could slow the UK's economic recovery from coronavirus

The threat comes despite WTO director-general Roberto Azevêdo, pictured, suggesting that doing so could slow the UK’s economic recovery from coronavirus

Mr Azevêdo highlighted agriculture as one of the biggest victims if a deal could not be struck. Pictured: Farmer Chris Hynes shears a sheep at Pines Lane Farm in Staffordshire on Saturday

Mr Azevêdo highlighted agriculture as one of the biggest victims if a deal could not be struck. Pictured: Farmer Chris Hynes shears a sheep at Pines Lane Farm in Staffordshire on Saturday

The prospect that they will be unable to reach an agreement has alarmed business groups who warn that firms reeling from the impact of the coronavirus lockdown are ill-prepared to with a major upheaval in trading arrangements with the UK’s biggest trading partner.

Furthermore, the WTO has warned global trade could fall by a third as a result of the pandemic.   

Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One, Mr Azevêdo said: ‘The less disruption the better, the less turbulence the better, and less turbulence is the closest to where you were before.

‘So if you can maintain the degree of integration and relationship that you had before Brexit, it is less traumatic than if you have to go to WTO terms’.

Doing so could prove ‘painful’ for some sectors, he said, but insisted he was optimistic a deal would still be reached. 

It comes as a group of MPs will call for a vote on extending the transition period, despite that being previously ruled out by Mr Gove. 

Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat leadership candidate, told The Times: ‘No-deal Brexit at the end of this year would strike a devastating blow to people’s livelihoods, businesses and the NHS just as we begin to turn the corner from the coronavirus. It’s not too late to stop this monumental act of national self-harm in its tracks and agree to an extension.’