Key facts
- The agricultural agreement is expected to be worth over £5bn to the UK economy by 2040, the government believes.
- The UK would pay the EU billions of pounds for access to its emissions trading scheme.
- A youth experience scheme would issue visas to people under 30, with each EU member state getting its own quota.
- UK producers could keep selling some EU-banned products, such as certain pesticides, during a transition period.
- The EU draft statement says the UK is likely to contribute to its cohesion budget, which the UK has not signed off.
- European countries are pushing Britain to accept higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, which UK ministers resist.
Andy Burnham is preparing to announce three trade deals with the EU at a Brussels summit on November 20, where he is scheduled to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. Officials on both sides said the final texts are close to agreement, though some details, including how many young people may travel under the mobility scheme, still need to be settled.
The deals cover an agricultural agreement the government believes will be worth over £5bn to the UK economy by 2040, access to the EU emissions trading scheme, and a youth experience scheme issuing visas to people under 30. Under the agricultural deal, UK companies and travelers would no longer need a certificate to transport live animals, including pets, into Europe, and pet owners would be issued a pet passport. UK producers could keep selling some products banned under EU law, such as certain pesticides, during a transition period, and trade in live molluscs and Scottish salmon would be freed up.
Under the emissions agreement, the UK would pay the EU billions of pounds to avoid being caught by a cross-border carbon tax that comes into force in January. Both sides are understood to have agreed that each EU member state should get its own quota under the youth visa scheme, and the UK is negotiating an emergency brake so that if a member state refuses its quota, the UK would do the same for Britons traveling there. Parts of the agreement will not be in place until 2028.
Burnham said on Tuesday that the agreement would boost the UK economy by £17bn, an increase of 0.4%. He told the Economist: "A deal could add up to 0.4% to GDP. Now that is a number that you cannot ignore." He told ITV: "I will not run ahead of public opinion. The public need to be the boss when it comes to whatever happens with Brexit."
Elements of the deal, including payments for emissions trading access, drew criticism from those who argue Britain is signing up to rules it sought to avoid when it left the bloc. Officials have also started talks on a separate joint statement on future cooperation, including industrial policy and tuition fees. A draft prepared by the EU and not yet agreed by the UK would seek an agreement within six months on charging European students lower fees, and describes the two sides as "trusted partners", language the UK believes will allow it to join the Made in Europe scheme.
European countries are pushing Britain to sign up to higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, which UK ministers and businesses are resisting. The EU draft also says the UK is likely to make a financial contribution to the bloc's cohesion budget, which has not been signed off by the UK. The EU has raised concerns about UK plans for an accelerated program to deport foreign national offenders to the EU and is pushing London to drop them. Downing Street has said a separate announcement on Burnham's vision for future relations with the union would take place around the time of the summit, without deciding whether it comes before, during or after.