Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen. (Image via Financial Times)

Britain, EU to resume trade deal talks

The Prime Minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson, and the President of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, both ordered their negotiators to resume trade talks on Sunday, following Great Britain's decision to separate itself from the European Union (EU) from 31 January 2020. The decision to revive the talks means that they believe there should be another way to secure a deal worth of almost $1 trillion of trade a year.

In a joint statement, both Boris and Leyen agreed that despite the differences, they still agreed to negotiate to resolve the issues. After speaking for more than an hour on Saturday, they decided that the talks would proceed in Brussels. The officials stated that the talks will continue where they had left off. After that, Boris and Leyen will hold a conversation once more on Monday Evening. 

Despite the months of negotiations, both Great Britain and the EU have not come to an agreement on these three areas: fisheries, fair competition guarantees, and how to resolve future disputes. France demands fishing rights in the British waters, while Great Britain wants the EU to convince the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, to make another deal.

However, the world is still anticipating which party would be ready to bend its position hard enough to allow a breakthrough. Since the Brexit, Great Britain is still in the transition period until the end of 2020.

Since Johnson is the one initiating the Brexit, he must also prove that he has secured a clean exit as a fulfilment to his last year's election campaign regarding British sovereignty. Von der Leyen also does not want to offer London much, in fear that the other European nations might consider exiting as well. Therefore, Leyen has to think of a deal that will not alienate the other 27.

Should the EU and Great Britain fail to reach any deal, the five-year Brexit divorce will not end well for both sides, as the world economy is blown away by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Yet, both sides know that the time is running short. As Britain is exiting less than 4 weeks, both Great Britain and the EU have to secure a deal and approval from all 27 member countries.

If the talks run beyond Sunday, the condition might worsen as the British Government is pressing the legislation to reintroduce contentious clauses once removed by the Upper House, to secure trade with the other four nations. Yet, if a trade deal between London and Brussels is secured, the clauses will not be necessary.

Source: https://bit.ly/3ghFlUJ