Brexit: Boris Johnson says ‘no need’ for UK to follow EU rules on trade

Mr Barnier said all goods coming into the EU will need to comply with its rules on health or other standards and, as a result, goods entering the union “will be subject to regulatory checks”.

“Businesses must adapt now for this new reality,” he said.

The more standards the UK and EU had in common, the better the access the EU will be able to offer to its market.

“Will the UK continue to adhere to Europe’s societal and regulatory model in the future or will it seek to diverge?” he said.

“The UK’s answer to this question will be fundamental.”

The European Commission has published its draft negotiating mandate and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said negotiations would be “hard and fair and fast” but that the closer the UK wanted to be to the bloc, the more of its common rules it would have to abide by.

‘Ideology’

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab made a statement in the Commons reiterating the prime minister’s speech, saying there would be no alignment with the EU or jurisdiction given to its courts.

“Now is the moment to look ahead with confidence and ambition,” he said. “Let us show the world that our finest achievement and greatest contributions are ahead.”

But Labour’s shadow Brexit minister, Paul Blomfield, said many of the issues of the past three years will resurface during the negotiations.

“We will continue to be dogged by the central dilemma that was at the heart of so much of the wrangling over the last three years,” he told MPs.

“[Will the] new relationship be determined by the economic interests of our country or by the ideological commitments to break with the European social model that drove so many of the Brexit enthusiasts?

“I am sorry to say that today’s statement suggests… that ideology has trumped common sense.”

The SNP’s Stewart Hosie also condemned the stance taken by the government, saying its plans “risk making the UK a smaller, insular and more isolated place”.

Labour’s Mr Corbyn added: “Throughout the election campaign… the prime minister kept assuring us that there was no danger of this country becoming an undercutting island… yet at the same time removes the legislative protection that makes sure we don’t become an undercutting economic unit.

“The European Union will no doubt be very strong on maintaining alignment and regulations. He has got to come up with an answer.”

What is a Canada-style agreement – and what about Australia?

In 2016, the EU signed a trade agreement with Canada – and this deal could be a template for the UK’s future relationship with the EU.

The Canada deal gets rid of tariffs (taxes) on the majority of goods traded between the countries – some “sensitive” food items, including eggs and chicken, are not covered by it.

The EU/Canada agreement means public contracts are opened up to each other’s contractors – so Canadian companies can, for example, pitch to build French railways.

It also means Canadian products going to the EU have to comply with EU standards (for example on food and product safety) and vice versa.

Services – a sector which makes up about 80% of the UK economy – are only partially covered by the deal.

Importantly for the UK, this type of agreement does not cover financial services meaning UK-based banks would not be able to serve clients in the EU without licences from individual countries.

At the moment, trade between the EU and Australia is based on a limited “partnership framework” agreed in 2008, covering co-operation in a wide range of economic areas and agreements on things such as mutual recognition of product standards.

Negotiations between the EU and Australia on a fully-fledged free trade agreement began in 2018.

‘Scorched earth policy’

Business groups called for more details of the UK’s objectives, the Institute of Directors saying the government “can’t just stick to red lines”.

And critics hit out at Mr Johnson’s suggestion of a deal with the EU “like Australia’s” with acting Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey calling it “no deal in all but name”.

Sir Ed added: “Deliberately hollowing out our trade is nothing short of a scorched earth policy for our economy.”

In addition to a deal with the EU, the government also wants to make progress in striking free-trade agreements with countries such as the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Trade talks between Britain and the EU are due to begin in March and the bloc’s own approach to the negotiations needs to be agreed by all 27 member states.

While the UK officially left the EU at 23:00 GMT on Friday, it will remain wedded to EU rules during a transition period which ends in December this year – the PM has said it will not be extended.