Sajid Javid ‘absolutely’ confident Brexit deal can be done this year despite ‘tight timetable’
SAJID Javid has said he is “absolutely” confident a Brexit trade deal with the EU can be done this year, despite the “tight” timetable.
The Chancellor said the UK’s top priority was to seal a trade deal with Brussels by the end of 2020, as there was a “strong belief on both sides it can be done”.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, he told a panel discussion: “Yes, we’ve set a timetable. It’s the end of this year, but it can absolutely be done.
“A lot needs to be to put together in the time we have.
“But it can be done, and it can be done for goods – we want free trade, zero-tariffs, zero-quotas – and also on services.”
He insisted that Britain had seen a “huge boost in investor confidence” since the election result.
Brexit certainty and the knowledge of a stable government has seen businesses become more sure of the path ahead, he said.
He wanted Britain to be seen as “one of the most pro-business governments the UK has ever seen”.
But Mr Javid risked a public spat with the US after he confirmed that the Government would go ahead for plans to slap extra taxes on tech giants.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Donald Trump would personally pile pressure onto Boris Johnson to drop the new levy.
But the Chancellor confirmed the two per cent tax on the revenues of social media giants would be coming into effect in April but it will only be a temporary measure until an international agreement is in place.
He said: “It’s important, it’s a proportionate tax.”
Mr Mnuchin was clear that retaliatory tariffs could hit Britain’s car industry if the tax is rolled out, and said the taxes were “discriminatory in nature”.
He said: “I’m sure this will be worked out… we will be having some private conversations about that.”
But the pair did share a joke over future trade talks between the UK and the US.
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Mr Mnuchin said he was “a little disappointed” that the EU and US would have trade talks at the same time, adding: “They may be a little harder to deal with than us!”
He said: “We are very much looking forward to a new trade agreement with the UK, it’s a big priority of ours for this year.”
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