Daily US Times, London: The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to tell Brussels he will not accept alignment with the EU rules when Britain negotiates a trade deal with Brussels.
Mr. Johnson is set to give a speech on Monday to toughen his stance ahead of trade talks following the UK’s formal withdrawal from the bloc.
Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary of the UK said agreeing to align strongly with EU rules would defeat the point of Brexit.
But Irish PM Leo Varadkar said the UK needed to commit to a level playing field in order to get a free trade deal.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier will also set out his approach to the trade talks with the UK. His stance is due to start next month.
In the speech, Boris Johnson to tell Brussels that he is prepared to accept customs checks at Britain’s borders if he cannot secure the sort of trade deal he wants.
Speculations surround that Mr. Johnson could support would be a Canada-style free trade deal which allows tariff-free trade for the majority of goods, but would not cover the UK’s service industry – which accounts for more than 80% of UK jobs.
While speaking with the BBC, Leo Varadkar said it was possible for the UK to have a “Canada-style agreement”.
But he also said that if the UK wanted that kind of trade deal “then that needs to come with a level playing field”.
“We have very strong views on fair competition and state aid”, he added.
UK-EU battle
The UK has officially ended a 47-year relationship with the European Union in the midnight of 31 January- more than three years after it voted to do so in a referendum.
The historic moment was marked by both celebrations and anti-Brexit protests.
Scotland, which voted to stay in the EU held candlelit vigils and on the other hand while Brexiteers partied in London’s Parliament Square.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to bring the country together and “take us forward”.
In a social media message, the PM said: “For many people, this is an astonishing moment of hope, a moment they thought would never come.”
He also acknowledged many people’s sense of anxiety and loss. He mentioned another group, ”perhaps the biggest – who had started to worry that the whole political wrangle would never come to an end.”
