Midlands business leaders have fingers crossed last-gasp Brexit deal can be struck

Boris Johnson suggested there was still hope of a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union but the two sides remained “very far apart”.

Following talks between the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, the negotiations will continue, with both leaders agreeing to “go the extra mile” in search of a deal.

Mr Johnson said the UK would not be walking away from the negotiating table and “where there is life, there is hope”.

Corin Crane, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said: “The last thing in the world we need is a no deal at the moment. Probably for the last four years, since the vote, we have been emphasising the importance of having clarity for businesses and a deal as early as we can – and now with three weeks to go with businesses still not knowing what the rules will be for trade on January 1 is incredibly frustrating.”

“We know that our manufacturing sector is incredibly important to the West Midlands and Black Country, and if you’re an automotive business and you’re buying or selling goods from abroad, you are not even sure at the moment if you will be paying tariffs. When the margins are so small on the parts you make you are operating at risk at the moment, and whether you will even cover your costs for what you are making.

“For food and drink manufacturers, we haven’t got much farming and agricultural land around the Black Country, but we have got loads of food manufacturers – and they absolutely depend on getting their fresh fruit and vegetables into the Black Country and into the factories. The delays at the ports are going to have an impact on them.

“The last thing in the world we need is a no-deal.”

Scenario

Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership board member Ninder Johal said: “We have heard that they might take it beyond on Sunday, so we are still hoping there might be some kind of deal. One of the Black Country’s major sectors is automotive and clearly the movement of parts is crucial. If there’s no deal, tariffs will also be crippling.

“What we still don’t know generally for the economy is what will happen when goods that we import and export across various sectors at the border, people are still not sure what paperwork is required in a no deal scenario.”

“A no deal, according to all the economists, will have a knock on growth of the UK economy.”

Mr Johnson said the UK would not be walking away from the negotiating table and “where there is life, there is hope” but a no-deal outcome was still the most likely scenario. He said the UK should get ready for the breakdown of talks, resulting in tariffs under World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms from January 1.

“The most likely thing now is, of course, that we have to get ready for WTO terms, Australia terms,” the Prime Minister said.

A joint statement issued by the two leaders on Sunday morning said: “Our negotiating teams have been working day and night over recent days.

“And despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile.”

The UK left the European Union at 11pm on January 31, but is still bound to EU laws until the end of the transition period on December 31, at which point any trade agreements would take effect