Brexit trade threat: UK ready to walk away from EU AND US talks – fishing OFF the table

Liz Truss insisted the UK would be prepared to walk away from negotiations if a good Brexit deal was not struck with Brussels. The Conservative Cabinet minister added the UK “will not just agree to what the other party wants”. She also said rights to UK fishing waters would not be on the table in talks.

Appearing on the BBC’s Breakfast show on Monday morning the Tory minister said: “We are not going to trade away our fishing in a deal with the EU or any other negotiating partner for that matter.”

On a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, she added: “There are huge potential benefits for all parts of Britain from a trade deal with the US.

“Our economic studies show a potential £15billion benefit for trade, £1.8billion boost for British workers and every single part of the country stands to benefit with particularly the Midlands, the northeast and Scotland likely to benefit the most.

“There are big opportunities there but if we don’t get the deal we want we would be prepared to walk away and that includes the red lines on food standards and the NHS.”

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Host Dan Walker replied: “Are you prepared to walk away from both those trade negotiations with the US and the EU? It seems it is quite a fragile arrangement doesn’t it?”

Ms Truss said: “We are prepared to walk away from both deals if we don’t get what Britain wants but there is a deal to be done.

“If you take a country like Canada, they have a good deal with the US and a good deal with the EU so there is no reason we can’t strike a deal with both the EU and the US to the benefit of Britain’s citizens.

“We are not going to get a good deal by agreeing with everything the other party is putting on the table.

After BBC host Andrew Marr asked again whether a trade deal could fall through because of fisheries, Ms de Monchalin replied: “Yes. We said there are four topics linked in the negotiations. What I want to say on fishing and all the topics – all we played with is emotion, with drama, with passion, with symbols.

“And we know how to make it a very nasty battle, both sides, where politicians in the UK and in France are put in a very difficult situation. In the end, we will both lose.”

Warning of the dangers of a confrontation on fisheries, Ms de Montchalin issued a veiled threat to UK fishermen, suggesting France could ban the sale of British fish in the EU if access to UK fishing waters was denied.

She said: “We are interdependent. We can choose a route where we have a lose-lose situation. No access for fishermen to waters. And then, no access for fish of UK fishermen to European soil. I am not sure this is a rational way to go.”

source: express.co.uk