Brexit deal – live: Full trade agreement text published as Boris Johnson admits ‘devil is in the detail’

Despite the deal, unanswered questions linger in many areas, including security cooperation — with the UK set to lose access to real-time information in some EU law enforcement databases — and access to the EU market for Britain’s huge financial services sector.

Many others areas, from fishing to wine, require subsequent negotiations, proving that the issue of Brexit has not been settled. 

Downing Street’s chief Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has said the trade deal with Brussels should herald a “moment of national renewal”.

After the publication of the treaty, the peer said it was “one of the biggest and broadest agreements ever” that he said ensures the UK “sets its own laws again”, without mentioning the added bureaucracy and friction for people and businesses that Brexit will bring, from customs paperwork to limits on where Britons can live and work.

“The way we’ve achieved that is there’s no more role for the European Court of Justice, there’s no direct effects of EU law, there’s no alignment of any kind, and we’re out of the single market and out of the customs union just as the manifesto said we would be,” he said.

“This should be the beginning of a moment of national renewal for us. All choices are in our hands as a country and it’s now up to us to decide how we use them and how we go forward in the future.”

The European Commission has produced a Q&A for the deal. 

On the question of free trade, it states: 

Trading under ‘FTA’ (free trade agreement) terms – even one as ambitious as this one, with zero tarifs or quotas – will inevitably be very different compared to the frictionless trade enabled by the EU’s Customs Union and Single Market.

In particular:

-rules of origin will apply to goods in order to qualify for preferential trade terms under the agreement;

-all imports will be subject to customs formalities and will need to comply with the rules of the importing party;

-and all imports into the EU must meet all EU standards and will be subject to regulatory checks and controls for safety, health and other public policy purposes.

Negotiations have concluded over a post-Brexit trade deal after months of fraught talks between Brussels and London. 

But with just days remaining until the end of the transition period, there is little time left to get the deal ratified.

Boris Johnson has “bottled it” over fishing rights as his Brexit deal has secured “a fraction of what the UK has a right to under international law”, according to Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO).

Following the release of the full EU-UK trade agreement on Saturday morning, Mr Deas said: “When push came to shove, despite the legal, moral and political strength of our case, fishing was sacrificed for other national objectives.

“Lacking legal, moral, or political negotiating leverage on fish, the EU made the whole trade deal contingent on a UK surrender on fisheries.

“In the end-game, the Prime Minister made the call and caved in on fish, despite the rhetoric and assurances that he would not do what Ted Heath did in 1973.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey indicated the party is likely to vote against the Brexit trade deal with the European Union.

He told BBC Breakfast: “If the details turn out to be what we’re hearing, we cannot support it. This will be so bad for British business, so bad for families to mean they’re less safe. How can a responsible party support such a bad deal?”

Sir Ed said there will be “lots of red tape” as a result of the treaty and warned law enforcement will face a blow from slower information sharing.

“British families will be less safe as a result of this deal. The criminals will be cheering as a result of this deal – that’s not acceptable,” he added.

Sir John Redwood, a Eurosceptic Tory MP, has urged Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, to flesh out further details on the agreement relating to Northern Ireland.

He tweeted: “Will Michael Gove publish the details of his agreement on the Northern Ireland issues? We need a detailed text to see how he thinks it is going to work.”