Post-Brexit free trade deal depends on EU recognizing UK ‘is a sovereign country’ – Gove

The United Kingdom wants a Brexit free trade deal but there exist significant differences with the European Union, senior British minister Michael Gove said on Tuesday. “The government remains committed to a deal with a free trade agreement at its core,” he told parliament.

“Success depends on the EU recognizing that the UK is a sovereign country,” Gove was quoted as saying. “There remain some areas where we have significant difference of principle – notably on fisheries, governance arrangements and the so-called level playing field,” the minister said. He also repeated that the UK would not extend the transition period.

The UK announced a new post-Brexit tariff regime on Tuesday to replace the EU’s external tariff, maintaining a 10 percent tariff on cars but cutting levies on tens of billions of dollars of supply chain imports, Reuters said.

Britain is seeking free trade agreements with countries around the world and aims to have deals in place covering 80 percent of British trade by 2022.