Brexiteer Francois makes trade talks prediction as crunch negotiations go down to the wire
BREXITEER Mark Francois has delivered a prediction as the UK and EU continue to struggle to make progress in crunch trade discussions.
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Conservative MP Mark Francois is confident the UK will prosper regardless of whether a Brexit trade deal is agreed with the EU or not. While on TalkRadio, he claimed the UK should be prepared to trade with the EU under World Trade Organisation rules if a trade deal cannot be agreed by the end of the year. The Tory MP also predicted that the bloc "may make concessions in the end game".
Mr Francois said: "We would not be leaving without a deal as we already have a deal.
"The deal is the revised withdrawal agreement Prime Minister Boris Johnson renegotiated.
"The question now is can we achieve a further deal with the European Union.
"Or would we just leave with the withdrawal agreement behind us and then trade essentially on Australia or WTO terms.
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"That is what your poll of listeners wish to support."
Mr Francois detailed how remaining trade talks may unfold.
He continued: "If we are going to get a deal it is very important the EU believe that we would be willing to leave on WTO terms if necessary.
"I think the EU does now believe that.
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"I still think they may make concessions in the end game, in the autumn.
"But if not it is Australia and WTO and WTO terms are how most of the world trades already."
Mr Francois was also asked whether the UK or EU needed a trade agreement more.
He said: "I think it would benefit both parties.
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"But the thing the EU has always been worried about is that one day the UK would become the Singapore of Europe.
"With a different economic model, over time, they feared we would out-compete them.
"That is one of the reasons they were so desperate to keep us in the European Union."