Britain speaks up the post-Brexit future plans

London, February 21: As Britain is planning to leave the EU, it has highlighted on future of UK after leaving the bloc. David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, said the UK wanted to lead a "global race to the top" in rights and standards not, as some feared, a "competitive race to the bottom".

British business could "never be cheaper than China" and must focus instead on product and service quality.He also suggested a Brexit deal by the end of 2018 was "well on the cards".

The Brexit secretary's address to Austrian business leaders in Vienna is the latest in a series of speeches the UK government is calling "the road to Brexit" as it faces demands to spell out details of the future partnership it wants with the EU.

The UK says it wants to avoid obstacles to smooth trade with the EU although it is leaving the single market and the customs union when Brexit happens in March 2019.

 

Davis said this can be achieved if both sides recognize each other's standards and regulations, promising the UK will "continue our track record of meeting high standards" once outside the EU.

"They fear that Brexit could lead to an Anglo-Saxon race to the bottom," Davis said.

"With Britain plunged into a Mad Max-style world borrowed from dystopian fiction. These fears about a race to the bottom are based on nothing, not our history, not our intentions, not our national interest.

"But while I profoundly disagree with those who spread these fears — it does remind us all that we must provide reassurance."