Liam Fox has accused the EU of putting politics over prosperity by threatening to take a hard line on the terms of post-Brexit trade with Britain. The international trade secretary said it was in everyone’s interests for trade barriers to be kept to a minimum when Britain leaves the EU, and called on senior figures in Brussels to curb their rhetoric.
Appearing before MPs, Fox said EU citizens would benefit from a liberal trade relationship with the UK. “In terms of the European Union partners, in terms of trade, it’s to the advantage of all citizens of the European Union … to have a greater trade liberalisation and to have the removal of customs costs and to be able to get wider access to procurement deals in other countries,” he said. “That’s in all their advantages and I think those who put politics ahead of prosperity might want to think twice.”
Fox was called to the European scrutiny committee in the House of Commons at short notice to explain why the government had given its backing to an EU free trade agreement with Canada without consulting parliament. The deal was left hanging in the balance on Tuesday when Belgium said it could not ratify the treaty because of opposition from its regional parliaments.
Fox said he hoped the deal would be agreed on Thursday but said Belgian objections demonstrated the difficulty Britain could face in negotiating a trade agreement with the EU. He called for the EU to work with Britain to agree a deal before Britain leaves.
He said all parties should recognise that no one would prosper if greater trade barriers were put up. Angela Merkel, François Hollande and European council president, Donald Tusk, have warned that Britain faces tough negotiations over Brexit.
Fox said: “It makes sense for all parties to take down the political temperature, to stop adopting a position of ultra-legality and get to where we might be able to improve the prosperity of citizens who elect us … If we work together, we will not end up introducing, intentionally or otherwise, trade impediments that do not exist at the present time, which can only harm the prosperity of our own people.”
Fox is one of three pro-Brexit cabinet ministers Theresa May has tasked with negotiating Britain’s departure from the EU. He apologised for not allowing a parliamentary debate before agreeing the EU treaty with Canada, but said the deal was worth a potential £1.3bn a year to Britain.
“I’m sorry the timescales meant it wasn’t possible to have a debate … For the UK to have been seen as in any way blocking [the deal] would have left us in a very difficult position regarding [EU] member states, and of course Canada.”
