British PM offers to accept EU tariffs on some goods to win trade deal: report

[LONDON] British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is willing to accept European Union tariffs on some UK goods in an attempt to win a trade deal and break the deadlock in talks with the EU, the Daily Mail reported.

Britain's chief negotiator, David Frost, had made a new offer, the newspaper said, citing sources.

According to the offer, the United Kingdom would accept tariffs on a small number of goods in return for the European Union dropping its demand that Britain continue to follow EU rules.

EU and British negotiators said on Friday they had made very little progress in their latest round of talks about a Brexit free-trade agreement, with just weeks left to extend a year-end deadline to reach a deal.

A threat made earlier to walk away from trade talks this month if no progress were made has been relaxed due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the Daily Mail said.

"We are not up for a long negotiation over the next months well into the autumn where nobody knows what is going to happen. October is too late for us to conclude this", a UK source was quoted by the paper as saying.

The idea of imposing tariffs was not immediately welcomed by Brussels, according to the Daily Mail.

Britain left the EU in January. Their relationship is now governed by a transition arrangement that keeps previous rules in place while they negotiate new terms.

REUTERS

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