'Beats EU's deal!' Boris Johnson has stolen march on Brussels with Japan trade deal
BORIS Johnson has got one over on the EU with the £15billion Japan trade deal unveiled by Liz Truss last week, which is actually better than the one which the bloc secured last year, a Tory MP has declared.
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And Daniel Kawczynski said the agreement was the first of many similar bilateral treaties, predicting Britain was well placed to take full advantage of Brexit in the years to come. International Trade Secretary Ms Truss confirmed the deal had been agreed in principle after months of negotiations, offering the first tangible benefits of Britain's decision to quit the EU in 2016.
With respect to the Japanese trade agreement, it's like the moment in the Wizard of Oz when the little dog moves the curtain and you see this huge power is in fact a little man
Mr Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, told Express.co.uk: "With respect to the Japanese trade agreement, it's like the moment in the Wizard of Oz when the little dog moves the curtain and you see this huge power is in fact a little man.
"This trade agreement with Japan has shown for the first time ever has secured a deal which is slightly better than the European Union has managed to get.
"So what is the point of paying this army of bureaucrats in Brussels when our own negotiating team can secure a trade deal which is better than the one Brussels has secured?
"And one which is more tailor-made to the bilateral priorities of these two major interlocutors?"
Mr Kawczynski explained: "We are not interested in the priorities of the other 27 countries, whether it is orange-growers from Spain or olives from Greece or German wine manufacturers.
"We are just interested in British and Japanese exports."
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Ms Truss's job is to line up other deals with major economies around the world, and she has already held discussions with Robert Lighthizer, who as US Trade Representative is her opposite number.
Mr Kawczynski predicted: "This is just the first of many - deals with Australia, and Canada, and America will follow."
"We are at the forefront of a transatlantic partnership with American which is going to be an alternative power base to the European Union."
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Such arrangements would not only benefit Britain's economy, but would also boost its standing on the world stage, Mr Kawczynski suggested.
He said: "Hitherto of course Britain has been subjugated.
"This great power, this permanent member of the UN Security Council has had its hands tied to the framework of the EU, which has sought in many ways to undermine NATO.
"Now the UK is going to join America in alternative bloc to the Franco-German axis and I the Poles and others are very excited about the prospect.
"There will be a really hardcore competitive interaction between European countries with these two alternative blocs, rather than the monopolistic supranational state which has been controlled and peddled by Brussels for the last five decades.
Speaking on Friday, Ms Truss said the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement meant 99 percent of exports to Japan would be tariff-free.
She added: "The agreement we have negotiated - in record time and in challenging circumstances - goes far beyond the existing EU deal, as it secures new wins for British businesses in our great manufacturing, food and drink, and tech industries.
"From our automotive workers in Wales to our shoemakers in the North of England, this deal will help build back better as we create new opportunities for people throughout the whole of the UK and help level up our country."
The EU/Japan deal came into force on February 1, 2019.