Brexit: Boris Johnson plans to breach withdrawal agreement to put trade talks in peril
Boris Johnson is planning on bringing forward legislation this week that would reportedly put the UK in breach of its Brexit withdrawal agreement and would likely blow up trade negotiations with Brussels.
The government will put forward its internal market bill on Wednesday, which will contain clauses that eliminate parts of the withdrawal agreement pertaining to state aid and customs declarations for Northern Ireland.
A Whitehall source told the The Financial Times that the bill would “clearly and consciously” undermine the withdrawal agreement and would be a breach of international law.
It comes as the UK and EU prepare to begin the next round of trade talks tomorrow, with Johnson last night setting a firm deadline of 15 October.
However, if the Prime Minister does breach the withdrawal agreement then these talks will likely break down as chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier has said in the past that “a precise implementation of the withdrawal agreement” was required for a trade deal to be brokered.
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Johnson also said in a statement last night that a no-deal exit for the UK when it leaves the EU customs union and single market on 31 December would be “a good outcome”.
The withdrawal agreement, which was passed through British and European parliaments in January, forces the UK to tell the EU about any state aid subsidies to private companies that will affect Northern Ireland.
The withdrawal agreement also forces Northern Ireland companies to submit customs declarations forms when shipping goods to Great Britain.
The government’s internal market bill – which will outline how the countries of the UK trade with each other – will mean that the UK does not have to follow state aid law when it comes to Northern Ireland, thereby breaching the withdrawal agreement.
Barnier today said he was “worried” by this prospect and that he would seek clarification with UK chief negotiator David Frost.
Barnier told local French media: “Everything that has been signed must be respected.
“We demand quite simply, and calmly, and until the end, that the political commitments in the text agreed by Boris Johnson be legally translated into this treaty.
“The important thing for me is what the prime minister says and does, and what the British government itself says and does.”
The move, and Johnson’s comments about a no-deal exit being a “good outcome”, may be seen by some as aggressive posturing by the UK as trade talks come closer to their final deadline.
The two sides are locked over the issues of EU fishing access to British waters and EU demands that the UK match regulations on state aid.
Frost said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday yesterday that the UK “would not blink” in negotiations.
“We came in after a government and negotiating team that had blinked and had its bluff called at critical moments and the EU had learned not to take our word seriously,” he said.
“So a lot of what we are trying to do this year is to get them to realise that we mean what we say and they should take our position seriously.”