'Green light' for Australia-UK trade deal in Brussels fine print

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'Green light' for Australia-UK trade deal in Brussels fine print

By Nick Miller

London: Australia will be able to start negotiating a trade pact with the UK from April next year and see the benefits by 2021, under a deal revealed on Monday by the UK and European Union’s chief Brexit negotiators.

Bilateral talks: British PM Theresa May with Prime Malcolm Turnbull in London last year.

Bilateral talks: British PM Theresa May with Prime Malcolm Turnbull in London last year.Credit: AP

However the deal has been met with howls of protest in some quarters, with one Conservative MP comparing it with “drinking a pint of cold sick”.

The so-called transition deal governs relations between the EU and UK from the moment of Brexit –set for March 30 next year – to the end of December 2020.

Brexit protesters wave EU flags as well as a British Union Jack, and a national flag of Wales, outside Parliament in London, on Monday.

Brexit protesters wave EU flags as well as a British Union Jack, and a national flag of Wales, outside Parliament in London, on Monday.Credit: Bloomberg

It is intended to avoid a ‘cliff edge’ for businesses, and to give time for both sides to set up new trade and customs systems.

The UK will retain the benefits of the single market and customs union while losing its role on EU decision-making bodies.

Under the deal the UK may negotiate, sign and ratify international agreements including trade deals, as long as they do not enter into force during the transition period.

Both Australia and the UK have indicated they hope to sign a trade deal after Brexit, and there have already been a series of discussions exploring what such a deal might cover.

Australia is keen to secure additional access for Australian workers and businesses into the UK market, possibly involving a new work visa.

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Brexit negotiators Michel Barnier for the EU, and the UK’s David Davis, revealed the 130-page transition deal document at a press conference on Monday, local time.

They said it was a “decisive step”.

Davis said businesses could “continue to operate and invest with confidence”, as the agreement would serve “as a platform on which we build our future relationship”.

“The United Kingdom will be able to step out, sign and ratify new trade deals with old friends and new allies around the globe for the first time in more than 40 years,” Davis said.

The agreement is set to be discussed at a European Council meeting at the end of the week, aiming to get approval from the heads of the remaining 27 EU members.

However the document is not finished. Many pages are coded ‘green’ meaning they are agreed by both sides’ negotiators – including those allowing trade negotiations.

However other parts of the document are ‘yellow’, meaning there is a broad agreement on the policy but not the wording, and some are white where discussions are ongoing.

One of the biggest unsolved problems is the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The deal would see Northern Ireland stay partly within the single market and customs union unless some other solution to avoid a ‘hard’ customs border is found.

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This ‘backstop’ scenario is vehemently opposed by the Democratic Unionist Party that holds the balance of power in the British Parliament, and was previously ruled out by British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Davis said the UK accepts a backstop option is necessary, but it has not agreed to the one currently in the draft document.

Brexiteers were disappointed that Britain would not regain control over its fisheries during the transition.

Scottish Conservative MP Douglas Ross said “there is no spinning this as a good outcome, it would be easier to get someone to drink a pint of cold sick than try to sell this as a success”.

Chief Brexiteer Nigel Farage said Britain was “selling out fisheries” by agreeing the deal.

“Theresa the Appeaser has let the people down again,” he said. ”After vaunting her so-called red lines she quickly rubs them out under EU pressure.”

Brexiteers are also angry that EU citizens retain unfettered access to the UK during the transition period.

Open Britain, a pro-Remain group, claimed the draft agreement broke seven promises made by the May government – including that free movement between Europe and the UK would end in March 2019.

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