Britain and Canada agree post-Brexit rollover trade deal
- by Emilio Sims
- in Money
- — Nov 25, 2020
With EU sources expecting a last-gasp trade-off between fisheries and the level playing field, some are now anxious Mr Barnier will go too far in order to secure a deal and preserve his legacy.
The trade deal is 95 per cent done, it was claimed last week, but breakthroughs on the crucial issues of fishing, the level playing field guarantees remain elusive.
Britain and Canada struck a rollover trade deal on Saturday to protect the flow of US$27 billion-worth of goods and services between them after Brexit, and vowed to start talks on a bespoke agreement next year. Without a series of new bilateral agreements, trade with countries around the world may be hampered by barriers such as tariffs and increased paperwork.
Mr Johnson is trying to shape a new "global Britain" that can strike out alone and negotiate better trade agreements than the European Union as part of what he says is the benefits of its historic decision to leave the world's biggest trading bloc.
The EU has frequently warned that its lawmakers will need some time to process any deal before ratifying it during their plenary session, scheduled for mid-December.
Mr Johnson said the two nations had strong rivalries in sport, but "there is a huge amount that unites us".
On Friday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued one of the most upbeat assessments of the state of post-Brexit trade negotiations in several weeks, saying the EU had seen "in the last days better progress, more movement on important files".
"We need to uphold the link between fishing and trade rules, this comes in a package", said the person.
"We look forward to future negotiations on a comprehensive Canada-UK bilateral free trade agreement which will provide a further opportunity to ensure Scotch whisky can compete fairly in the Canadian market".
The European Union's Brexit negotiator said on Monday "fundamental differences" persisted in trade talks with Britain but that both sides were pushing hard for a deal.
The prime minister previously joked an agreement between the United Kingdom and Australia would see an exchange of chocolate biscuits in the form of British Penguins and Australian Tim Tams.
Without the new accord, the United Kingdom and Canada would face tariffs on trade from January 1, when the Brexit transition period ends.
"And the people of Australia able to get Penguins in exchange".
The talks will resume in London from Friday, said the news, if depending on the results of Covid-19 tests.
The Canada deal would be the second major trade accord announced by Britain in less than a month, after it agreed to terms with Japan in late October.
