Theresa May dodges question on economic impact of leaving EU on WTO rules
Theresa May has refused to commit to publishing an economic assessment of the impact of leaving the European Union without a new free trade deal in place.
Speaking at the weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions, Angela Eagle, a Labour MP and former Shadow Cabinet minister, urged Ms May to publish an analysis of the impact of trading on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules on the British economy.
In the Commons on Tuesday David Jones, the junior Brexit minister, confirmed Britain would fall back on WTO trading arrangements if no deal was reached within the two-year timeframe allowed under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
If Britain left the EU without a deal it would be forced to trade with the rest of the continent under such rules. Roberto Azevedo, the organisation’s chief, has previously suggested this scenario would cost British consumers around £9bn in annual additional import tariffs.
But Ms May dodged the question. “As far as this Government is concerned we believe it is possible within the two-year timeframe to get the agreement not just for our withdrawal from the EU but also the trade arrangement that will ensure we have a strong, strategic partnership with the EU in the future,” she said.
The Labour MP Owen Smith also asked Ms May during the session whether she agreed with Mr Azevedo’s calculation of the £9bn impact on the British economy. But in her response, the Prime Minister simply reiterated her position that the Government would “ensure we negotiate a deal with the European Union that enables us to have the best possible deal in trading with and operating within the European Union’s single market in goods and services”.
Liz Kendall, the Labour MP for Leicester and former leadership contender, added that the choice MPs faced in Parliament at the end of the negotiating period was a “con” rather than a “meaningful” vote.
Source: Independent UK
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