Brits warned of Brexit disruption despite trade deal
Brits will face “some disruption” when the UK leaves the EU this week despite a last-minute trade deal, the government has warned.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said businesses and citizens must prepare for “practical and procedural changes”, warning that time to adapt to the new rules was very tight.
Gove hailed the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal as “a fantastic free trade agreement”, but that with “big change” comes both “challenge and opportunity”.
He urged Brits travelling to the EU to take out comprehensive travel insurance and check possible roaming charges with their mobile network provider, the BBC reported.
“The nature of our new relationship with the EU — outside the Single Market and Customs Union — means that there are practical and procedural changes that businesses and citizens need to get ready for, and time to make these final preparations is very short,” Gove said.
“We know that there will be some disruption as we adjust to new ways of doing business with the EU, so it is vital that we all take the necessary action now.”
It comes after the UK secured a post-Brexit free trade agreement with the EU on Christmas Eve, covering £660bn of trade.
European ambassadors will meet later today to discuss the deal before it is put before the European Parliament for formal approval.
MPs will then be recalled to parliament to vote on the deal on Wednesday.
The vote is expected to pass, with Labour backing what it describes as a “thin” deal in order to avoid a no-deal scenario.
Tory grandee Lord Heseltine has urged MPs and peers to abstain from the vote, warning the deal would inflict “lasting damage” on the UK.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted the treaty will withstand scrutiny from fervent Brexiters on his back benches.
Meanwhile, trade secretary Liz Truss said she expects to sign a continuity trade deal with Turkey this week.
The agreement was not possible until the UK struck a trade deal with the EU, as Turkey is in a customs union with the bloc.