By: Angelo Mancusia
In the aftermath of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for a ‘Canada-style free trade deal’, threatening to move the UK back to the Withdrawal Agreement if the terms of his demand were not met. Johnson has his mind set on a trade deal with the EU, saying there is “no need” for the UK to follow Brussels’ rules.
The Canada-style free trade deal is a deal, forged between the European Union and Canada in 2014, that removes tariffs on goods traveling between the EU and Canada. It also increases the quota, or the quantity of a product that can be exported without extra charges. An example of this is cheese–the quota on cheese being exported from the EU to Canada has gone from 18,500 tons of cheese (407,855,19 pounds) to 31,972 tons of cheese (704,861,94) a year.
In response, the EU representative Michel Barnier commented that the Prime Minister’s “ideology has trumped common sense”. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn added that Johnson “risked trade and investment in the UK if he kept “undermining collective agreements”, according to BBC News.
Johnson made a speech announcing this agenda to wager his threat of moving the UK to the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the EU doesn’t relent and give him the Canada-style free trade agreement. “We have made our choice–we want a free trade agreement, similar to Canada’s but in the very unlikely event that we do not succeed, then our trade will have to be based on our existing Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.
When offered the deal on the stipulation that the UK adopt Brussels-law, the Prime Minister rejected, saying the UK was open to negotiating and suggested that there would be annual negotiations on this. BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg asked whether he accepted that leaving the EU with no comprehensive trade deal could have significant cost for jobs and businesses, Mr. Johnson replied: “We’ve got a deal, it’s a great deal, we’re out.”
Bluntly put: The United Kingdom is not accepting EU rules, nor is it accepting the jurisdiction of the European courts. They are negotiating deals with other countries. As a final blow to the EU, fishing, which is integral to many European countries, will be dominated by British boats that are on British waters.
What is unmistakable to note is that this trade deal is essential to the British economy. And every deal is equipped with negotiations, and, more importantly, compromise. Barnier said the EU was ready to offer a “highly ambitious trade deal as the central pillar of this partnership”, which included zero tariffs and zero quotas. The catch, however, was that dependent on the UK agreeing to “specific and effective guarantees to ensure a level playing field” so competition “is and remains open and fair”.
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