UK will agree tariff-free trade deal with EU, minister claims

Chris Grayling insists the potential deal will not face the same difficulties as the proposed agreement with Canada

Chris Grayling insists Belgium will not block a UK-EU trade deal because the Walloons depend on our imports (Getty)

The European Union will agree a tariff-free trade deal with the UK – and it will not run into the same difficulties faced by the troubled Canadian pact, a cabinet minister has insisted.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the amount of trade done between the UK and EU puts it in a different category to the Canadian deal, which has been blocked by the Belgian regional parliament in Wallonia.

The prominent Brexit-backer played down the prospect of the Walloons forming a similar obstacle to the UK's negotiations with the EU because of the amount of produce their farmers sell to Britain.

Crisis talks have attempted to break the deadlock over the Walloon opposition to the EU-Canada Ceta deal.

Mr Grayling told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “We want the Canadian deal to be done, it is in the interests of everyone on both sides of the Atlantic that that happens.

“But I think there is a very different question with our relationship with the European Union. We are their most important export market.

“If you look at the issue of Belgium this week, which has been at the heart of the debate over the Canadian deal, we are a huge market for Belgian agriculture.

“Nobody in continental Europe benefits from a reduction in the ability to trade with the United Kingdom.”

Chris Grayling played down the prospect of Walloon resistance to a UK-EU trade deal (PA)

Playing down the prospect of Walloon resistance, he said: “We buy a whole load of produce from Walloon farmers, so therefore it is not going to be in their interests to see tariffs imposed.

“This is why I have always been convinced that we will have tariff-free trade, we will have sensible trading arrangements, because it is in both of our interests that should happen.”

Mr Grayling acknowledged that there would be political positioning and emotions involved in the UK-EU talks, but he insisted his dealings with continental counterparts had been “friendly”.

Opposition closer to home could also throw a spanner into the works as the Government attempts to strike a deal with the EU, and Theresa May has called for a “grown-up” approach in the relationship with the devolved administrations in the UK.

The Scottish Government has demanded to be treated as an "equal partner" in the talks ahead of a meeting in London on Monday between Mrs May and the leaders of the devolved administrations.

Michael Russell, the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, said: “The UK Government needs to understand there is a triple mandate to maintain Scotland's relationship with, and place in, Europe.

“The clearly expressed views of the people of Scotland, the democratically elected Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament all need to be respected.

Wallonia’s government head Paul Magnette and European Parliament President Martin Schulz after their meeting regarding Ceta (Getty) (NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP/Getty Images)

“But four months on from the referendum, we have yet to see a proposal from the UK Government on how the views of people in Scotland will be taken into account.

“The Scottish Government is becoming increasingly concerned that the UK is heading for a hard Brexit with all the damage that will bring to the Scottish and UK economies.

“The Prime Minister has set the clock ticking and the UK Government must use the time before triggering Article 50 to engage properly with all the devolved administrations and show that they are willing and able to treat Scotland as an equal partner.”

Nicola Sturgeon’s administration has drawn up draft legislation for a second referendum on independence, with the First Minister suggesting Scots should have the ability to reconsider the issue in light of the vote for Brexit.

Downing Street has insisted that the Holyrood government has no mandate for a second referendum after independence was rejected in 2014 and the issue could cast a shadow over the talks on Monday.

Mrs May insisted that the UK will “achieve far more together than we ever could do apart” as she called for a mature relationship between the different administrations.

She said: “I want Monday's meeting to be the start of a new grown-up relationship between the devolved administrations and the UK Government – one in which we all work together to forge the future for everyone in the United Kingdom.”

PA