A former Prime Minister of Australia has warned Boris Johnson not to plunge Britain into an ‘Australian-style’ no-deal Brexit.
Malcolm Turnbull, who led the country until 2018, skewered the Tory leader’s claims that the UK can prosper on ‘Australian terms’ after December 31.
Australia does not have a trade deal with the EU - so ‘Aussie terms’ is just spin for a no-deal Brexit by another name.
Another former Aussie PM, Tony Abbott, has been courted by the Tories to sit on the UK Board of Trade and insists Britain can prosper in a no-deal Brexit.
“Australia does one hundred billion dollars' worth of trade with the EU every single year, on this very basis," he boasted in 2019.
But Mr Turnbull last night warned his country has "very large barriers" to trading with the EU - which makes up more than half the UK’s annual trade at £660bn.
Mr Turnbull said ending the Brexit transition period on those terms would be “pretty disappointing”.
He said on BBC Question Time: ”There are very big barriers to Australian exports of agricultural products in particular, there's a lot of friction in the system in terms of services, there's a lot to aim for.
"So, you know, be careful what you wish for. Australia's relationship with the EU is not one from a trade point of view that I think Britain would want, frankly.”
It comes after Boris Johnson and the EU agreed one last push to decide whether talks can continue by Sunday.
Talks are stuck on three issues - fishing, the ‘level playing field’ of sticking to EU rules, and how any deal is policed.
Boris Johnson last night warned there is a "strong possibility" no free trade deal will be struck and the UK should be prepare to crash out with no-deal.
The prime minister told British citizens and businesses to "make proper preparations" for that scenario, which would come into effect on 1 January 2021.
He insisted he would "keep going" and "go the extra mile" to try to strike a trade agreement with Brussels - but the deal currently on the table "isn't right for the UK".
Mr Johnson said yesterday a no-deal would be “very good terms and we can prosper mightily in that future which is just around the corner”.
But his Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden was less upbeat today - admitting “if it comes to it, it will be choppy.”
Mr Dowden added: “We can survive and indeed thrive over the longer run.”
The British Retail Consortium has warned supermarket food prices will rise in a no-deal as 80% of food imports are from the EU.
Under Britain's no-deal plan from January, 85% of foods imported from the EU would be subject to tariffs of more than 5%.
The average tariff would be more than 20%, including 48% on beef mince, 16% on cucumbers and 10% on lettuce.
Many non-food retailers would also face large tariff bills for EU-sourced products, including clothes and ceramics.
The Mirror understands Chancellor Rishi Sunak is working on a support package for British lamb farmers among others worst-hit.
But he is stopping short of an emergency budget or measures to support the entire economy beyond what's in place due to Covid.
