"Underlining the overriding importance of EU trade for the health of the UK economy, because of the bloc's close geographical proximity, she said: Economic gravity is reality, and almost half of our trade is the EU. I'm all up for doing deals with India and the US and South Korea, but none of them are going to be as big as what we can get with better trade relations with Europe, she added."
"Its director, Jeromin Zettelmeyer, asked whether the UK would like to see a Swiss-style agreement, which could involve agreeing to abide by EU rules and standards for key industries. Further integration will require further alignment, but I'm up for that, the chancellor replied. We are keen to go through at sectoral level what sectors we could have alignment in. She added: Some of that could be unilateral and some of it could be negotiated. But there's big opportunities."
Labour plans to pursue closer alignment with the EU as the primary route to boost UK economic growth. Nearly half of UK trade is with the EU due to geographical proximity, making improved trade relations with Europe the largest growth opportunity compared with deals with India, the US, or South Korea. Proposals include sector-by-sector alignment, a possible Swiss-style arrangement for standards, a food and farming agreement, a youth mobility scheme including Erasmus, and UK participation in the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism. A government review of the 2020 trade and cooperation agreement is due by year-end.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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