British chief Brexit negotiator says London not afraid to walk away without deal
2020-09-07 08:04:00

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Photo taken on May 28, 2020 shows the European Parliament Liaison Office in the United Kingdom in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

Frost made the remarks as the trade talks are to resume on Tuesday in London with both sides still having differences on issues such as fishing and the level of taxpayer support Britain will be able to provide for businesses, also referred to as state aid rules.

LONDON, Sept. 6 -- The British government's chief Brexit negotiator David Frost has said that his government is unafraid to walk away from the post-Brexit trade talks with the European Union (EU) if the regional bloc does not compromise on major issues, including fisheries and state aid rules.

"This time, we won't blink," Frost told the Mail newspaper on Sunday.

"We came in after a government and negotiating team that had blinked and had its bluff called at critical moments and the EU had learned not to take our words seriously... So a lot of what we are trying to do this year is to get them to realize that we mean what we say and they should take our position seriously," he said.

"We are not going to be a client state," he said. "We are not going to compromise on the fundamentals of having control over our own laws."

"We are not going to accept level playing field provisions that lock us in to the way the EU do things," he said.

Britain ended its EU membership on Jan. 31 but is still following EU rules during the transition period until Dec. 31 to enable a permanent future trade deal to be reached. During this period, Britain would have to pay into EU funds but have no say in laws imposed by Brussels.

"We want to get back the powers to control our borders and that is the most important thing," he said.

Source: Xinhua Editor: Hiram