Rees-Mogg in Walsall: Post-Brexit trade deal with EU still possible
Jacob Rees-Mogg says people should not "lose hope" of the UK agreeing a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU– as he insisted the country will thrive even if no agreement is reached.
The Leader of the House of Commons said he expected negotiations to go right up to "the last moment", saying the EU was "an absolute master of doing things late in the day".
He also suggested India could become a major trading partner for the UK in years to come, describing it as "a really exciting place to be doing business".
Mr Rees-Mogg was in Walsall to meet with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and cast his eyes over plans for the Phoenix 10 development, which is taking shape at the former copper works site off Reservoir Place.
He addressed the Government's Brexit trade talks with the EU, which appear to have reached deadlock after both sides refused to budge on key issues including fishing rights.
"We have seen this so often with the European Union, that things happen late in the process," he said. "The EU is an absolute master of doing things late in the day.
"Boris Johnson's agreement in getting the withdrawal agreement negotiated in 100 days when everyone said it was completely impossible to change it, shows that things can happen right up to the last moment. So I wouldn't lose hope."
Mr Rees-Mogg said that leaving the EU meant that Britain could now look beyond Europe to forge trading arrangements with countries such as India.
His comments came as International Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss prepares to meet India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal via video link today, with a new trade deal allowing greater market access for UK products in India at the top of the agenda.
Mr Rees-Mogg said: "I think the country can thrive whether we have an Australian arrangement or a Canadian arrangement, which are basically the two options on the table.
"I think we can thrive regardless because we need to be looking at the whole world and not just in Europe.
"The Indian economy is a really exciting place to be doing business. We may not trade much with them now, but you take the next 30 or 40 years and that's what we should be thinking about."
