British Trade Secretary Liam Fox told CNBC on Wednesday that he believed there was a "good chance" of securing an exit deal with the European Union.
UK lawmakers are proposing alternative plans to the current agreed deal with the EU after it was soundly rejected in Parliament. Options include seeking an extension to the U.K.'s current exit date of March 29.
The U.K. international trade secretary said he didn't think any extension was likely but he had seen some movement towards compromise among U.K. MPs.
"There's a good chance that we'll get it because there is a growing awareness both in Europe and and the U.K, perhaps more importantly in Westminster, that under the law European treaties will no longer apply so unless we get a deal, then no deal will happen," Fox said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"Since the defeat of the government in its original proposals there has been a very strong impetus to work for a deal from those who are remain and those who are leave in the referendum," he added.
Pressed on whether staying in a customs union with other EU countries would be better than leaving without a deal, Fox argued that attempts to share common trade rules wouldn't satisfy the 2016 referendum result.
"I don't think the customs union delivers what the people voted for," he said before adding the "price would be very high and I think the democratic push back in the U.K. would also be very high."
A customs union is an agreement that allows partaking countries to set common external tariffs, allowing goods to travel freely between those countries.
from Top News & Analysis https://cnb.cx/2HsOVXm
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