Johnson’s trade hopes dented as ‘no deal’ with Brussels will mean no deal with Japan
This is awkward.
It’s a common belief that Boris Johnson is after no trade deal with the EU, because the hedge fund bosses who financed his bid to become Tory leader have bet on an economic downturn post-Brexit – and the boost to their personal finances will be his reward to them for their support.
But now it seems Japan has said it won’t sign the “quick fire” trade deal Johnson wants with that country, unless it knows the UK has signed a deal with the EU first.
That’s really mixed the saki with the sushi!
Boris Johnson’s hopes of securing a “quick fire” trade deal with Japan before the end of the year have been dented as experts warned it will be dependent on the UK clinching a trade agreement with Brussels first.
The UK wants to offer an “EU plus plus” deal to Tokyo, which will go further than Japan’s existing deal with Brussels, in an attempt to reach an agreement quickly.
Anand Menon, director of The UK in a Changing Europe, an academic think-tank, described the move as “sensible” due to the amount of Japanese investment and trade that comes into the UK.
But he warned the chances of the Government agreeing a deal with Tokyo will be entirely reliant on the type of arrangement London agrees with the EU.
“It is possible [to agree a deal within the year] but Japan will need to know what kind of relationship we will have with the EU, as much of the business they do with us is linked to the EU. The difficulty of accessing the EU from the UK will be a key consideration,” Prof Menon said.
“All of these trade deals are interlinked,” he added.
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