Britain wants financial services included in EU trade deal

LONDON - Reuters

Britain wants to include financial services in a trade deal with the European Union which covers a full sweep of economic areas, Brexit minister David Davis said on Jan. 2.

Davis said that any deal that left finance out would be “cherry picking”, after the EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier cast doubt on the inclusion of financial services in a free-trade deal.

“We are looking at the full sweep of economic cooperation that currently exists and determining how that can be maintained with the minimum additional barriers or friction,” Davis wrote in the Daily Telegraph, adding that the principles of a trade deal in goods could be applied to services too.

“I do not believe the strength of this cooperation needs change because we leaving the European Union, so long as it is understood that this involves working together, not simply rule taking. These principles can be applied to services trade too.”

In December, Barnier said he was not aware of any free-trade deal the EU had concluded which included unfettered access for financial services.