EU’s Barnier Hits Back at U.K., Saying Limited Deal Unrealistic

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union’s Chief Brexit Negotiator, Michel Barnier, hit back at criticisms made by his British counterpart, saying the U.K.’s hopes of signing only a limited trade deal are unrealistic.

In a letter on Wednesday, Barnier told his U.K. counterpart David Frost that the U.K. would have to accept the bloc’s so-called level playing field rules - designed to prevent unfair competition -- even in a limited trade agreement that did not eliminate tariffs on all goods.

“The EU has always made clear that any future trade agreement between us will have to include strong level playing field guarantees, irrespective of whether it covers 98% or 100% of tariff lines,” Barnier said.

His comments came in response to a strongly-worded letter by Frost on Tuesday, in which the British official accused the EU of behaving as if the U.K. is not worthy of a fair deal.

The public exchange of barbs will further darken the mood surrounding the negotiations, which are heading for a crunch deadline next month. If inadequate progress is made in the talks by the end of June, the U.K. has said it may walk away from the negotiating table and start preparing to leave the EU single market and customs union at the end of the year without a new deal in place.

In his letter, Frost criticized the EU, claiming the bloc was not even offering the U.K. the same terms as it had struck with other countries. Barnier suggested that this should not be a surprise.

“There is no automatic entitlement to any benefits that the EU may have offered or granted in other contexts and circumstances to other, often very different, partners,” Barnier said in his letter. “We also do not accept cherry picking from our past agreements.”

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