‘It’s clear what the shape of the deal looks like’: Rishi Sunak hints UK and EU are on the brink of Brexit trade pact after watchdog warns failure would wipe another 2 per cent off GDP
- Rishi Sunak said this morning 'it is clear what the shape of the deal looks like'
- The Chancellor said with 'good will on all sides we can get there' and agree deal
- Spending watchdog has warned a no deal split will cost two per cent of GDP
- Michel Barnier said to have threatened to quit talks if UK does not compromise
Rishi Sunak today raised hopes of the UK and the EU agreeing a post-Brexit trade accord as he said it is 'clear what the shape of the deal looks like'.
The Chancellor said he believed that with a 'constructive attitude and good will on all sides we can get there'.
Mr Sunak said he was both hopeful and confident of a deal being hammered out in the coming days but his optimism was in stark contrast to reports in Brussels which claimed Michel Barnier had threatened to pull out of the talks.
The EU's chief negotiator is said to have told his UK counterpart Lord Frost that he will walk away from discussions unless Downing Street shows in the next 48 hours it is willing to compromise on key sticking points.
It came as the Government's official spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), warned a no trade deal split from the bloc would wipe two per cent off of UK gross domestic product (GDP).
The Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast a hit to GDP this year of 11.3 per cent - the largest drop since the Great Frost of 1709. It predicted a no deal Brexit would wipe a further two per cent off of GDP
Top level talks between the UK and the EU were briefly suspended last week after a member of Mr Barnier's team tested positive for coronavirus.
Discussions have continued remotely but Mr Barnier is due to leave self-isolation this evening and travel to London tomorrow to resume face-to-face negotiations, lasting over the weekend.
The two sides remain deadlocked on the issues of post-Brexit fishing rights, the so-called 'level playing field' on rules and on the future governance of the deal.
Mr Barnier told Lord Frost during a video call on Tuesday that he believes it is pointless for talks to continue unless Number 10 is willing to shift on the remaining points of contention, according to The Guardian.
The apparent threat to walk away from the negotiating table comes with just five weeks to go until the end of the 'standstill' post-Brexit transition period.
But Mr Sunak painted a much brighter picture of the talks this morning as he told Sky News: 'The negotiations are ongoing and I think the teams are hard at work, they are working intensively and I remain hopeful that with a constructive attitude...'
Asked if he was hopeful or confident of the talks succeeding, he replied: 'Both. I am an optimistic person. There is a lot of work going on and I think with a constructive attitude and good will on all sides we can get there.
'It is clear what the shape of the deal looks like and as I said, it requires a constructive attitude.
'I think on our part we have always been very consistent and transparent about what we need, the things that are important to us, why ultimately we voted for Brexit and what needs to be delivered.
'I am hopeful that the EU will see that the vast majority of what we are asking for are things they have already agreed with other countries and we have done that deliberately and as I have said, the teams are hard at work and let's see.'
Mr Sunak said 'in the short term especially it would be preferable to have a deal' but he insisted the Government had 'put an enormous amount of effort and resource into preparing the country' for whatever the outcome of the talks is.
His comments came after the OBR predicted the UK's GDP will plummet by 11.3 per cent in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus crisis - the largest fall since 1709.
The OBR also said a no trade deal Brexit would inflict yet more damage on the economy, wiping around two per cent off of GDP and adding another £10 billion of borrowing.
Richard Hughes, the chairman of the OBR, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Our estimate of the long term impact of coronavirus on the economy is that it scars the economy by about three per cent. That is the lost output by the end of our five year forecast period.
'We did do a no deal scenario which looks at what would happen if we didn't arrive at a free trade agreement with the EU in five weeks' time.
'That takes a further two per cent off output by the end of the forecast period.
'But it is important to bear in mind that we have already reduced our forecast for output by four per cent to take account of the fact we are leaving the EU and that assumes we are going to get a free trade agreement.
'So that two per cent would be on top of the four per cent that is already been taken out of our forecast for output in five years' time.'
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtODk4OTQ0Ny9SaXNoaS1TdW5hay1oaW50cy1VSy1FVS1icmluay1CcmV4aXQtdHJhZGUtcGFjdC5odG1s0gFpaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGFpbHltYWlsLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZS04OTg5NDQ3L2FtcC9SaXNoaS1TdW5hay1oaW50cy1VSy1FVS1icmluay1CcmV4aXQtdHJhZGUtcGFjdC5odG1s?oc=5
2020-11-26 09:48:00Z
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