Johnson says 'strong possibility' of no-deal split in EU trading ties

LONDON/BRUSSELS, December 11 ------ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday there was “a strong possibility” Britain and the EU would fail to strike a new trade deal, but vowed to do whatever he could to avoid a tumultuous split in three weeks. The European Union and Britain are at loggerheads over fishing rights, economic fair play and dispute settlement, despite months of talks to cover trade from Jan. 1 when the United Kingdom finally exits the bloc’s orbit.

The two sides have set a deadline of Sunday to find agreement and prevent a chaotic break. After a meeting with his senior ministers, Johnson said the treaty on the table did not work for Britain. “We need to be very, very clear there’s now a strong possibility, strong possibility that we will have a solution that’s much more like an Australian relationship with the EU, than a Canadian relationship with the EU,” Johnson said.

Australia, unlike Canada, has no comprehensive trade deal with the EU, leaving its trade mostly subject to tariffs. Johnson uses the comparison to suggest a deal is not necessary, though Australia has only a fraction of Britain’s trade with Europe. Under such a scenario, Britain would see trade barriers imposed with the EU, its main economic partner, in just three weeks. Sterling dropped against the U.S. dollar to $1.3262 on the remarks, down from around $1.33. It was last almost 0.9 percent lower on the day at $1.3274.

Johnson spoke as the 27 national EU leaders met in Brussels and the bloc’s chief executive, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said bridging the persistent differences in UK trade talks was “difficult”. “We are willing to grant access to our single market... but the conditions have to be fair,” she said. “This fine balance of fairness has not been achieved so far.”

Source: reuters.com