London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Brexit: Zero tariff, zero quota aim for trade talks, says Barclay

The government is aiming to secure a "zero tariff, zero quota" free trade deal with the EU, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has said.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr the UK would not diverge from current EU trade regulations "for the sake of it".

Mr Barclay added the government's objectives for the trade talks would be published after Brexit on 31 January.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a speech next month setting out more details, he said.

Mr Barclay's comments come after the US treasury secretary said his country wants to agree to a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK this year.

After Brexit happens at 23:00 GMT on Friday, the UK will be free to negotiate and sign new trade deals with countries with no existing EU deals - like the US.

The UK then enters into an agreed transition period with the EU, which lasts until 31 December 2020. During this time the UK will aim to negotiate a free trade deal with the EU to ensure that UK goods are not subject to tariffs and other trade barriers.

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr, Mr Barclay said: "We are going to publish our objectives for the negotiation and we will set that out in due course after the 31st.

"The key issue is that we will have control of our rules, we will not be a rule-taker, we will not diverge for the sake of diverging.

"We start from a position of alignment but the key opportunity is that we will be able to set our standards, high standards, on worker's rights, on the environment, on state aid as part of that trade policy."

He said "both sides are committed" to securing a trade deal by the end of December, adding: "It's in both side's interests to keep the flow of goods going."


'Simpler immigration rules'

Irish minister for European affairs, Helen McEntee, told Sophy Ridge on Sky News that "Brexit is really only at half-time, we have a huge amount of work still to do".

"However, the idea that we can negotiate a trade deal with one that is comprehensive, one that provides very little change for our citizens, not just in the UK and Ireland, but the EU as well, within about a 12-month space, it's very difficult."

The new European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has previously shared concerns about the timeframe, saying it would be "impossible" to reach a comprehensive trade deal by the end of 2020.

Meanwhile, the home secretary told Sophy Ridge UK businesses have been "too reliant on low-skilled cheap labour from the EU".

Priti Patel said the government will be able to control levels of low-skilled migration after Brexit.

She also confirmed that the Migration Advisory Committee will report this week on the UK's future immigration system.

The government was "absolutely determined to change the immigration system, end the complexity of the immigration system, have simpler rules, have a points-based system where we can absolutely have people that bring the right kind of skills for our labour market", she said.

On the UK's post-Brexit relationship with EU rules, Ms Patel appeared to adopt a harder approach than Mr Barclay, saying: "In terms of divergence, we are not having alignment. We will be diverging. We want to take control of our laws, money and our borders."

Last week, Chancellor Sajid Javid said the UK would use the power to diverge from EU rules on trade only when it was in the interests of business.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
×