Brexit Secretary David Davis has described the deal struck by Theresa May to move to the next phase of Brexit talks as a statement of intent. He said it was not legally enforceable and if the UK failed to get a trade deal with the EU then it would not pay its divorce bill. But he stressed that the UK was committed to keeping a frictionless and invisible Irish border.
And it would find a way to do this if there was a no deal Brexit. He also stressed that the odds of the UK exiting without a deal had dropped dramatically following Friday’s joint EU-UK statement in Brussels. And he spelled out the kind of trade deal he wanted with the EU, describing it as Canada plus plus plus.
Canada’s deal with the EU, signed last year, removes the vast majority of customs duties on EU exports to Canada and Canadian exports to the EU. But Mr Davis said it did not include trade in services, something he wanted to see in the UK’s bespoke deal with the EU.
Chancellor Philip Hammond has previously suggested the Brexit divorce bill – believed to be between 35bn and 39bn Pounds will be paid even if no EU trade deal is struck.
