By Ben Kerrigan-
The prospect of a no deal crisis has sparked new fears of a credit and trade deal crisis, as new British prime minister, Boris Johnson, threatened to withhold the £39bn divorce bill owed to the European Union.
France EU Minister, Ms Nathalie Loiseau a suggested the EU will refuse to discuss any trade deals with Mr Johnson until Brussels gets clarity on when the £39 billion divorce bill will be paid by the UK.
She said: “There will not be – if there was to be a no-deal – any negotiation on the future relationship with the EU without having clarity for Ireland, without having clarity for due payments and without having clarity for protection of citizens.”
The government’s new “no-deal” crisis committee met on Monday, as businesses warned of an inevitable economic damage if Britain crashes out of the 28-nation trading bloc without clarity about future relations.
The Confederation of British Industry(CBI) say that neither the U.K. nor the EU is prepared for a no-deal Brexit. The CBI, which is the biggest lobby group in Britain made 200 recommendations for both sides to accelerate Brexit preparations, including new laws, new IT systems and agreements to temporarily maintain some common regulations.
However, it added that “the unprecedented nature of Brexit means some aspects cannot be mitigated.”
“It’s like putting sandbags down for a flood. Your kitchen’s still going to be underwater but maybe we can save the bedrooms upstairs,” said the group’s head of EU negotiations, Nicole Sykes.
Another warning came from French automaker PSA, which said it could move production of its Vauxhall Astra model out of Britain if Brexit makes it unprofitable. Chief executive Carlos Tavares told the Financial Times that would mean closing Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant in Wales, which employs 1,000 people.