Rishi Sunak is in denial – proof that Brexit has failed mounts by the day
This week, all hopes of a US-UK trade deal were abandoned. President Biden’s administration signalled a deal is off, owing to fears that it could hit American jobs. Next month, food imports from the EU will be subject to cumbersome new UK border checks. It is the latest evidence that Brexit appears to be making it harder for Britain’s economy and people to thrive, not easier, as we were led to believe, writes Dominic Grieve
Sunak welcomes Joe Biden to Downing Street in July
Bad news, when expected, is often managed by trying to pretend it does not exist. So, it was on Monday, as the final nail was driven into the coffin of the promised US-UK trade agreement when Joe Biden signalled his administration had no interest in agreeing one.
Rather than face up to its implications, a UK government spokesperson tried to argue that the US and the UK were going to develop other forms of trade cooperation. Displacement activity cannot, however, conceal how this news announces the total failure of the central plank of the post-Brexit trade policy promoted by those who supported leaving the EU.
We were assured that a buccaneering and independent UK would thrive on new free trade deals that carried none of the regulatory baggage of the EU single market. And of these deals, none was more important than that with the US, our largest single-state trading partner.
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