Brexit deal ‘done’ – UK Government announce UK EU trade deal

The UK and EU have agreed a trade deal.

The in / out Referendum in 2016 saw 41,544 Wrexham people voting to leave the EU and 28,822 voting to remain part of it – with a whopping 71.6% turnout (you can relive the local count night here).

PM Johnson announced the deal in a live briefing from Downing Street, his full statement is below:

It is four and a half years since the British people voted to take back control of their money, their borders, their laws, and their waters and to leave the European Union.

And earlier this year we fulfilled that promise and we left on Jan 31 with that oven-ready deal.

Since that time we have been getting on with our agenda.

Enacting the points based immigration system that you voted for and that will come into force on Jan 1.

And doing free trade deals with 58 countries around the world.

And preparing the new relationship with the EU.

And there have been plenty of people who have told us that the challenges of the Covid pandemic have made this work impossible.

And that we should extend the transition period.

And incur yet more delay.

And I rejected that approach precisely because beating Covid is our number one national priority and I wanted to end any extra uncertainty and to give this country the best possible chance of bouncing back strongly next year.

And so I am very pleased that this afternoon that we have completed the biggest trade deal yet, worth £660 billion.

A comprehensive Canada style free trade deal between the UK and the EU, a deal that will protect jobs across this country.

A deal that will allow UK goods and components to be sold without tariffs and without quotas in the EU market.

A deal which will if anything should allow our companies and our exporters to do even more business with our European friends.

And yet which achieves something that the people of this country instinctively knew was doable.

But which they were told was impossible.

We have taken back control of laws and our destiny.

We have taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation.

In a way that is complete and unfettered.

From Jan 1 we are outside the customs union, and outside the single market.

British laws will be made solely by the British Parliament.

Interpreted by UK judges sitting in UK courts.

And the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice will come to an end.

We will be able to set our own standards, to innovate in the way that we want, to originate new frameworks for the sectors in which this country leads the world, from biosciences to financial services, artificial intelligence and beyond.

We will be able to decide how and where we are going to stimulate new jobs and new hope.

With freeports and new green industrial zones.

We will be able to cherish our landscape and our environment in the way we choose.

Backing our farmers and backing British food and agricultural production.

And for the first time since 1973 we will be an independent coastal state with full control of our waters with the UK’s share of fish in our waters rising substantially from roughly half today to closer to 2/3 in five and a half years’ time after which there is no theoretical limit beyond those placed by science or conservation on the quantity of our own fish that we can fish in our waters.

And to get ready for that moment those fishing communities we will be helped with a big £100m programme to modernise their fleets and the fish processing industry.

And I want to stress that although of course the arguments with our European friends and partners were sometimes fierce this is, I believe a good deal for the whole of Europe and for our friends and partners as well.

Because it will not be a bad thing for the EU to have a prosperous and dynamic and contented UK on your doorstep.

And it will be a good thing – it will drive jobs and prosperity across the whole continent.

And I don’t think it will be a bad thing if we in the UK do things differently, or a take a different approach to legislation.

Because in so many ways our basic goals are the same.

And in the context of this giant free trade zone that we’re jointly creating the stimulus of regulatory competition will I think benefit us both.

And if one side believes it is somehow being unfairly undercut by the other, then subject to independent third party arbitration and provided the measures are proportionate, we can either of us decide – as sovereign equals – to protect our consumers.

But this treaty explicitly envisages that such action should only happen infrequently and the concepts of uniformity and harmonisation are banished in favour of mutual respect and mutual recognition and free trade.

And for squaring that circle, for finding the philosopher’s stone that’s enabled us to do this I want to thank President von der Leyen of the European Commission and our brilliant negotiators led by Lord Frost and Michel Barnier, on the EU side Stephanie Rousseau as well as Oliver Lewis, Tim Barrow, Lindsay Appleby and many others.

Their work will be available for scrutiny, followed by a parliamentary vote I hope on Dec 30.

This agreement, this deal above all means certainty.

It means certainty for the aviation industry and the hauliers who have suffered so much in the Covid pandemic.

It means certainty for the police and the border forces and the security services and all those that we rely on across Europe to keep us safe.

It means certainty for our scientists who will be able to continue to work together on great collective projects.

Because although we want the UK to be a science superpower, we also want to be a collaborative science superpower.

And above all it means certainty for business from financial services to our world-leading manufacturers – our car industry – certainty for those working in high skilled jobs in firms and factories across the whole country.

Because there will be no palisade of tariffs on Jan 1.

And there will be no non-tariff barriers to trade.

And instead there will be a giant free trade zone of which we will at once be a member.

And at the same time be able to do our own free trade deals as one UK, whole and entire, England, NI, Scotland and Wales together.

And I should stress this deal was done by a huge negotiating team from every part of the UK, and it will benefit every part of our United Kingdom, helping to unite and level up across the country.

And so I say again directly to our EU friends and partners, I think this deal means a new stability and a new certainty in what has sometimes been a fractious and difficult relationship.

We will be your friend, your ally, your supporter and indeed – never let it be forgotten – your number one market.

Because although we have left the EU this country will remain culturally, emotionally, historically, strategically and geologically attached to Europe, not least through the four million EU nationals who have requested to settle in the UK over the last four years and who make an enormous contribution to our country and to our lives.

And I say to all of you at home.

At the end of this toughest of years.

That our focus in the weeks ahead is of course on defeating the pandemic.

And on beating coronavirus and rebuilding our economy.

And delivering jobs across the country.

And I am utterly confident that we can and will do it.

By today we have vaccinated almost 800,000 people and we have also today resolved a question that has bedevilled our politics for decades.

And it is up to us all together.

As a newly and truly independent nation.

To realise the immensity of this moment and to make the most of it.

Happy Christmas to you all.

That’s the good news from Brussels – now for the sprouts.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said: “It was worth fighting for this deal because we now have a fair and balanced agreement with the UK, which will protect our European interests, ensure fair competition, and provide much needed predictability for our fishing communities. Finally, we can leave Brexit behind us and look to the future. Europe is now moving on.”

The European Commission’s Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, said: “We have now come to the end of a very intensive four-year period, particularly over the past nine months, during which we negotiated the UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU and a brand new partnership, which we have finally agreed today. The protection of our interests has been front and centre throughout these negotiations and I am pleased that we have managed to do so. It is now for the European Parliament and the Council to have their say on this agreement.”

Locally Clwyd South Simon Baynes MP has a buoyant timeline on Twitter, retweeting a range of praise for the agreement, adding his own personal view:

✍️ DONE DEAL: We’ve agreed a new free trade deal with the EU 🇬🇧🇪🇺

We are an independent trading nation – and this trade deal will help create opportunity and prosperity for all parts of our United Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/x8Yx2rOVx2

— Simon Baynes MP (@baynes_simon) December 24, 2020

He added, “As a longstanding supporter of Brexit, I am delighted by the announcement today which is a great deal for Clwyd South, the rest of Wales and the UK. Our deal provides Welsh businesses with exceptional access to the EU’s market: It is the first time the EU has ever agreed a zero tariffs, zero quota deal.

“The people of Wales, and all UK nationals, will be able to benefit from a wide range of social security rights when travelling, working and living in the EU, including access to an uprated state pension and to reciprocal healthcare arrangements. It will also allow UK residents to access necessary healthcare when travelling in the EU under the same type of arrangements that currently exist with the EHIC scheme.

“And our European friends who live, work or study in Wales now will continue to enjoy their rights under the UK’s EU Settlement Scheme. So far, we have granted 3,786,780 successful applications for settled or pre-settled status to EU or EEA nationals in the UK, including 74,300 of around 80,000 in Wales.

“The Agreement also ensures that the world-renowned Welsh products such as Welsh lamb, Welsh laverbread and Traditional Welsh Caerphilly will be protected in the EU with geographical indications and we have established a mechanism for protecting GIs in future in both the EU and the UK.

“This British shaped deal, negotiated by UK Government officials from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England, provides continuity and opportunities for the Welsh economy, and meets the UK Government’s commitment to maintaining high standards. These are standards that the UK helped to draft, and reflect the importance that we place on remaining a world leader in these areas.

“This deal is only one of many as the UK enters the global stage as an independent trading partner. We are not limiting ourselves to just trade with the EU. We will go on to sign trade deals around the world, which will be great news for Welsh businesses and consumers. They will offer new opportunities in new markets for our burgeoning exports.

“The Welsh Government said it wanted a deal and we will now be ending the transition period with one. Now it needs to take action to ensure Wales is ready for the deal and benefits fully.”

Reacting the news the Welsh Government has re-confirmed its long standing position that any deal would be better than no deal, First Minister Mark Drakeford said:

“Clearly, we need to receive a copy of the draft Treaty and analyse its terms before commenting in detail.

“But at every stage of the negotiations we have argued for a deal which would allow us to maintain the closest possible relationship with the EU. The evidence tells us this is the way to protect the economy and jobs.

“Faced with a binary choice between no deal and this – indeed any deal – we would prefer a deal.

“However it is appalling that it has taken until a week before we leave the transition period to give the first indication of the terms on which we will trade with our most important trading partner. This will only add to the enormous challenges facing our businesses.

“And while we don’t have any of the detail we know this deal is not the one we would have negotiated – after 31 December, Welsh businesses will still face major new barriers to trade; Welsh citizens will no longer be able to travel freely in Europe; and there will be little in it for service sector businesses.

“Even so, this deal is better than the catastrophe which would have been a no-deal. It means we have preserved our relationship with our nearest and most important trading partners. It provides a platform from which better arrangements can be negotiated in the future.

“The Welsh Government will continue to work with all partners, businesses, communities and people across Wales to prepare for and help navigate the end of the transition period and the new relationship with the EU.”

Paul Davies MS, Leader of the Opposition in the Welsh Parliament, has very much welcomed that the UK has secured a trade deal with the EU, saying:

“The news this afternoon ends years of discussions over the UK’s future with the EU and I’m delighted that the UK Government has been able to secure a deal.

“Crucially, this means that we can add the EU to the list of nearly 60 trade deals that have been secured around the World, which come into place as we enter the New Year, enabling the UK to start our new journey as a strong independent nation.

“I have no doubt, that despite the challenges of Covid-19, across the UK, and especially in Wales, people and businesses will take up the opportunities that these deals provide, helping Welsh businesses to grow and kick start the Welsh economy.”

The UK left the EU at the end of January, but remains under its trading rules until the end of this month, and the deal needs approval.

The deal will now be put to the European Council, bringing together the 27 governments of the bloc, and the European Parliament. Parliament in Westminster will be reconvened, and Parliament in Cardiff Bay will also debate it.