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Among all the flim-flam you may have missed this utterly extraordinary response from International Trade Secretary Liam “all the deals will be ready one minute after midnight” Fox, when asked by #Marr how many trade deals are currently on track.
Basically, the Secretary for International Trade is telling UK companies that currently do business under EU FTAs - companies with goods on ships that have *already set sail* - that, whether there’s still a legal framework for trade IN FOUR WEEKS, will be one big surprise. wtaf
Of course, as many pointed out at the time Liam Fox promised trade deals would be ready to go, this was always impossible, since the first and most important question any sane country would ask in relation to a trade deal with the UK is “what will your relationship to the EU be?”
It’s not a coincidence that the only big deal Fox has done (and it’s only a bridging deal, with negotiation proper to follow) is with Switzerland - our one big non-EU trading partner who already has their own relationship with the EU and would be largely indifferent to ours.
