After months of uncertainty and concern over no-deal scenarios, the chief UK negotiator, David Frost, has said that a free-trade deal with the EU may be ready by September.
Speaking with the Telegraph, Mr Frost said that he hopes talks in August will bring the two sides nearer to a deal.
“Our assessment is that an agreement can be reached in September, and we will work to achieve this if we can,” he said.
This comes after previous talks with Brussels were put on hold for two weeks, after five weeks of intensified negotiation ended earlier this year.
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has given a narrow window for a deal to be achieved saying that an agreement must be finalised by October if it is to be formally ratified before the transition period ends on 31 December 2020.
There are still some contentious points within the ongoing negotiations, such as UK fishing rights and the “level playing field” guarantees, especially those regarding state aid rules. However, the Telegraph, after speaking with the UK’s chief negotiator, has reported that the previous round of negotiations saw both sides make concessions to help talks progress.
As part of these concessions, the UK has reportedly accepted the EU’s wish for the future relationship to be governed by an all-encompassing agreement instead of separate deals, while the EU has acknowledged the UK’s insistence that the European Court of Justice will have no jurisdiction over the future relationship.
“The UK’s sovereignty, over our laws, our courts, or our fishing waters, is of course not up for discussion, and we will not accept anything which compromises it – just as we aren’t looking for anything which threatens the integrity of the EU’s single market,” added Mr Frost.
In other positive news, Irish Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, recently met with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Northern Ireland and said: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. It seems to me that there is a landing zone, if that will is there on both sides, and I think it is.”
It would seem, therefore, that the prospect of an EU-UK trade deal is looking more likely as the deadline for confirming an agreement draws closer. Many businesses, both in the UK and overseas, will be hopeful of a deal that allows continued access to the EU’s single market via the UK.
Reanda UK is a subsidiary of leading independent accountancy firm Grunberg & Co Limited. Our aim is to help businesses and individuals to navigate the UK’s world-renowned business and tax infrastructure, and to support them with their international ambitions. To find out how we can help you, please contact us.