EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has warned that it is “dangerous to think that Brexit is sorted.”Some in the UK may see Brexit as a cause for celebration, but in the Commission, there was regret that it was happening. The EU provides a market of 450 million for the UK and they will want a ‘benign’ trading relationship, however, there had been ‘contradictory’ messages from various UK ministers. "The more divergence there is between the UK and the EU, the more difficult it will be for British industry," he warned. “If they don’t make a deal they will have to crash out.”That will create a lot of red tape and make it difficult for competitiveness. Goods will have to be properly checked.”The EU wants the best possible alignment with the UK, but Mr Hogan said the UK will not be able to come to a trade deal with the US until after EU/US negotiations are completed.

Source: Irish Examiner January 30, 2020 12:56 UTC