Britain And EU Resume Trade Talks On Brexit And Reach A Temporary Agreement With The Four European Countries

After the UK decided not to boycott negotiations with the European Union (EU) on a bilateral trade agreement after brexit, EU personnel went to London on October 22, 2020 to resume negotiations. The UK revealed that it has reached provisional trade agreements with four non EU European countries, including Switzerland.

The dramatic break of the deadlock between the UK and the EU has allowed Britain to end days of brinkmanship and redouble efforts to reach an agreement to avoid economic chaos after the end of the transition period of brexit on December 31, AFP reported. Michel, the chief representative of EU affairs, set out from Brussels on July 22.

According to the 10 point joint memorandum issued by the United Kingdom and the European Union on the 21st, both sides agreed that Barnier and British negotiator David Frost would meet and negotiate during the weekend, and if necessary, continue to negotiate every day after the weekend, so as to eliminate the huge differences between the two sides.

However, the memorandum also reminds us that "unless a final comprehensive agreement is reached, nothing in these negotiations will count.". 」

In an interview with Sky News, UK police Secretary kit malthouse said he prayed for good results from the new pressure injected into the tortuous negotiations between the UK and the EU.

"There is usually a little bit of emotion, tension and going out of the door," he said. It is the nature of the negotiation that the situation will become tense, especially close to the deadline. 」

On the other hand, a source from the UK Department of international trade told AFP that the UK has reached a temporary trade agreement with the four non EU European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, namely Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Lichtenstein, to ensure the consistency of their trade affairs after brexit.

Among the EFTA countries, in addition to Switzerland and the EU signed independent trade agreements, the other three countries signed a wide range of "European Economic Area" (EEC) Nomic area, EEA) cooperation agreement, and pay accordingly for access to the euro area.

"We have reached an agreement with the eea-efta countries to implement a coherent agreement to ensure the continuity of trade exchanges by the end of the year," a UK government source said. According to the agreement, the "vast majority" part of the tariff free trade will remain unchanged from January 1, 2021.

The source stressed that this is only a temporary agreement. The UK will continue to negotiate with EFTA countries on a more ambitious free trade agreement, which is expected to be reached next year. At present, "progress is very smooth.".