More Brexit battles ahead as the EU and UK set out future relationship priorities 

It was just a couple of working hours after the UK’s formal departure from the EU before the conciliatory approach of UK and EU leaders came to end. Brexit sabres are once again being rattled, and the outlines of the big skirmishes ahead are now clear. 

The EU has published its draft negotiating directives for the future UK–EU relationship, and Boris Johnson has used a speech to set out his stall on trade – both with the EU and rest of the world. The prime minister deliberately talked of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU in the context of broader British trade ambitions, particularly with the US. Trade talks, whoever they are with, are now businesses as usual for 'Global Britain'. Brexit, Johnson hopes, is last week’s news. 

But the prospect of Brexit, and the future relationship with the EU, being relegated to "just another trade deal" in the businesses pages of the papers looks slim.  

The UK and EU are squaring up for a battle on the so-called ‘level playing field’

The question of the ‘level playing field’ has lingered over UK–EU negotiations for the past two years. The EU wants reassurances from the UK before it removes its key protective blanket of tariff barriers, and is seeking legal guarantees that a big neighbouring economy will not undercut EU businesses by deregulating in areas like workers’ rights or by massively subsiding industry.  

There is some history here. Theresa May had previously agreed commitments on the level playing field as part of her Withdrawal Agreement, and even Boris Johnson signed up to some obligations for the rest of Great Britain in the fine print of his deal on Northern Ireland.  

But the UK is now publicly pushing back on EU demands. Ever since Phillip Hammond talked of “Singapore-on-Thames” and a David Davis speech mentioned a post-Brexit “Mad Max dystopia” (even just to rule it out), there has been a very real concern – both in the EU and the UK – that the UK will use Brexit to undercut European standards to gain a competitive march on the EU. Johnson’s speech – which included some bizarre references – pointed out, rightly, that these concerns have often been blown out of proportion. The UK’s state aid bill is far less than France and Germany’s and, if anything, there is a tendency in Whitehall to gold-plate regulation rather than break rules. Looking at Johnson’s majority, his talk of being ‘lent’ votes, it seems unlikely that he would start slashing workers’ rights in 2021. 

But the EU won’t be convinced by a message of ‘trust us, we are Britain’. It is a rule-bound beast requiring legal certainty, and if the UK wants a deal then the EU will need it to play by some rules. Johnson's best hope is to ensure that these are not the EU’s rules – which means they won't be rules enforced by the European Courts of Justice. 

The UK is no longer arguing for Brexit exceptionalism – in fact, it wants the opposite

It seems fitting that negotiations on the future relationship started with the EU setting out a 30-page opening pitch and the UK prime minister giving a speech. The first phase of talks saw Theresa May rely on speeches to sidestep tricky issues and to give herself more time to work through big decisions, while the EU used more detailed mandates to set out its position and to provide the basis for talks. The two sides appear to be continuing with these approaches – although the prime minister provided a little more detail to parliament through a written statement and then sent the foreign secretary to answer questions from MPs.

But there is also a big break with previous positioning. Rather than pleading for special treatment because of its unique circumstances, the UK is now saying it wants no such special treatment. Johnson wants the EU to treat the UK as if it was any other trading partner – and leave the baggage of Brexit outside of the talks. Johnson’s core argument is a simple one: the EU doesn’t set these demands with other countries, so why should it do so with the UK?  

Boris Johnson also gives the US an indication of the UK's thinking

Johnson’s speech saw him make the case for free trade and underline the UK’s priorities as an independent player at the World Trade Organization – the only substantive policy change while the UK is in the transition period. He talked of “fighting the waves of protectionism in Beijing, Washington and Brussels”. 

The prime minister’s speech also contained some hints about future trade relations with the US – with some comments aimed directly at the US ambassador. The prime minister talked about a "science-based approach" to regulations, which has been interpreted as the first step towards the UK allowing chlorinated chicken to form part of a deal – even if animal welfare standards will not be dropped domestically. He also raised the US bans on UK meat exports – a clue to the kind of quick win that would allow the UK and US to reach an agreement on trade that falls far short of anything like a full free trade agreement, but would allow a nice joint press conference involving the words 'trade'.  

But while Boris Johnson may want to focus attention on deals to be struck on a tour of former colonies, the looming clash with the EU is sure to be the next stage of the Brexit drama.