Boris Johnson to Move Forward on Brexit, With or Without a Trade Deal

By Jesse Sokolow on 18 December 2019
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A week after a landslide victory, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government said it will end its Brexit transition period by December 2020, with or without a trade deal with the European Union in place, fulfilling the Conservative Party’s major campaign promise of “getting Brexit done.”

The prime minister’s office said it expects Parliament to hold its first vote on Johnson’s Brexit deal as soon as Friday. This would be the first step in leaving the bloc. It also signaled it would attempt to keep another promise, namely to eliminate the possibility of extending the transition period beyond 2020 by tweaking the Brexit legislation.

Many believe that the transition period will in fact end in a “no deal” scenario, when the deadline to negotiate a trade deal with the bloc ends at the end of December 2020. Investment bank JPMorgan sees an “uncomfortably high” 25% chance of this happening.

The move gives the United Kingdom and the European Union 11 months to reach a deal.

Meanwhile, the news raises fresh concerns in the business community and the pound erased all of its gains made since last week’s election.  In addition, European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, has threatened to withhold consent for Johnson’s current Brexit deal unless Britain addresses outstanding issues with EU citizens’ rights in a post-Brexit world.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)

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