Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Liam Fox sets next election as deadline for EU transition… Any transitional arrangement with the EU after Brexit must end by the time of the next election, Liam Fox has said. The international trade secretary told the BBC he had no ideological objection to interim arrangements to minimise disruption after the UK’s exit in 2019… Mr Fox, who is in Washington for discussions on future trade relations with the US, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that it was “perfectly reasonable” for there to be a transition period to ensure the process was as “smooth as possible” for British business and foreign investors. But he suggested that voters would want any “voluntary” arrangement to end by the time of the next general election, due to take place in May 2022. And he said he would want the UK to be able to negotiate its own trade deals during that period so it could take “full advantage” of its new status. – BBC News Liam Fox: Any Brexit transition should end by 2022 – Sky News Brexit deal should not ‘drag on’ until after next election, says Liam Fox – Guardian A Brexit transition period is looking more and more likely despite a cabinet rift – Julian Harris for City A.M. Transition timings are trivial – Telegraph editorial > WATCH via BrexitCentral: Liam Fox is clear that a Brexit transition must be limited in time and scope …as he says the BBC has ‘wilfully ignored’ positive news on Brexit… Liam Fox has demanded a meeting with the BBC director-general after accusing the broadcaster of “biased” coverage of Brexit. The International Trade Secretary wrote to Lord Hall to say the corporation had “wilfully” ignored positive stories about Brexit… Dr Fox claims there is a “clear pattern of unbalanced reporting of the EU economy” and the work of his department… In particular, he says that on July 6 the BBC chose not to report the annual foreign direct investment figures published by his department, even though his team called the BBC’s economics, business and political desks to flag up the story… On July 7, he says, he alerted the BBC to monthly trade statistics showing exports had risen by 10.8 per cent, but the BBC ignored it and ran a piece about the widening trade deficit. He wrote: “There was no call to my department to request our viewpoint, and we certainly were not given a chance to reply.” – Telegraph (£) Liam Fox demands meeting with BBC over ‘negative’ Brexit stories – Guardian UK trade secretary accuses BBC of ‘biased’ Brexit coverage – Politico The BBC has no right to levy its licence fee – Matt Ridley for The Times (£) …as he today meets Trump’s administration to lay the groundwork for a US-UK trade deal Fox will meet US trade representative Robert Lighthizer to set up a working group which will focus on bilateral trade and investment. Currently, trade between America and Britain is worth over £150bn a year, and Fox has said that liberalising trade with the US could add another £40bn in trade. The US and the UK will not be able to strike a free trade agreement until the UK has left the EU, but on the two-day visit the working group will investigate how to strengthen ties between businesses ahead of Brexit. – City A.M. Liam Fox hails post-Brexit trade talks with US as ‘unprecedented opportunity’ – Express Obama’s bluster is exposed as we head the trade queue – Chris Roycroft-Davis for the Express A post-Brexit US-UK trade deal? Here in the States, we want nothing less – Nile Gardiner for the Telegraph (£) Boris Johnson to press for post-Brexit trade deal with New Zealand Boris Johnson will push for progress on a post-Brexit trade deal with New Zealand when he lands in Wellington for talks with the prime minister. The Foreign Secretary is on the latest leg of a nine-day international tour that will see him head to Australia next. Both countries are viewed as key allies by the Government and Mr Johnson is “keen to see deals taking shape”, according to Government sources. Working groups have been set up to thrash out the details of future deals with each nation and the progress made so far will be set out during the visits. – AOL/PA Trade on the agenda as Boris Johnson lands in New Zealand – New Business Review Jeremy Corbyn causes Labour rift over Brexit with pledge to leave single market… Jeremy Corbyn has toughened Labour’s stance on leaving the single market, creating more divisions with his pro-EU backbenchers. The Labour leader said his party would take the UK out of the single market because it was “dependent on EU membership”, but would seek tariff-free trade access to the single market. Asked to confirm that his position was that the UK would leave the single market because the UK was leaving the EU, he said: “The two things are inextricably linked. Yes.” …Chuka Umunna, pro-EU Labour MP for Streatham, said: “The overwhelming majority of Labour members think we should be fighting to stay in the single market — let’s do it.” – The Times (£) Labour would leave single market, says Jeremy Corbyn – Guardian Corbyn ends months of confusion by saying UK must quit because it is ‘inextricably’ part of the EU – Mail Jeremy Corbyn confirms a Labour government would remove Britain from the single market if it was leading Brexit – The Sun Labour is not being straight with voters about its stance on student debt or the EU – The Times editorial (£) > WATCH via BrexitCentral: Corbyn challenged to be “crystal clear” on single market > WATCH via BrexitCentral: Barry Gardiner spells it out: We will not be members of the Single Market …as Sir Vince Cable claims there’s an appetite for altering the approach to Brexit Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has said he is working with Conservative and Labour MPs to change the Government’s approach to Brexit. Sir Vince told Sky News he had been talking with members of Labour’s shadow cabinet and Tory backbenchers over the way Britain was being taken out of the European Union… Sir Vince said Labour MPs were being “intimidated” and told to “toe the line or else”… The centrepiece of the Lib Dems’ policy on Europe is offering voters an “exit from Brexit” through another referendum once negotiations have finished, with staying in the EU an option on the ballot paper. Sir Vince insisted such a vote would not be a re-run of the 2016 race, and public opinion will change once the “sheer complexity” and “horrors” of leaving the EU become apparent. – Sky News Vince, patron saint of U-turns is at it again: Lib Dem leader makes opposition to Brexit his priority… despite having very different views not long ago – Mail Cable supports neverendum (video) – Guido Fawkes German free market forces warn against EU militancy on Brexit Germany’s Free Democrats have demanded a special “Brexit cabinet” in Berlin to safeguard the vital interests of the country, citing growing alarm among industrial and manufacturing companies over the disastrous implications of a failed deal with the UK. The fast-rising party says it will push for an amicable compromise in Brexit talks if it joins the ruling coalition this autumn – as now looks increasingly likely – warning that it would be a fatal error for Europe to humiliate Britain… [Economic spokesman Michael] Theurer said the German government gives the impression of coherence on Brexit but in reality its response has been ad hoc and shambolic. “Nobody is in charge. There is a lack of priorities. We absolutely need close coordination with the economy minister taking the lead,” he said. – Telegraph (£) Hopes grow UK will land production of electric Mini The future of the sprawling Mini plant in Oxford is looking increasingly assured with parent BMW leaning towards building the first electric version of the iconic car there. A decision from the German car giant on where the Mini E will be built is due by the end of September but sources close to the company say the UK plant is almost guaranteed to land the work. The Cowley Road site is the historic home of the Mini and the bulk of the 360,000 cars produced each year roll off the production in Oxford. – Telegraph Euro clearing could stay in UK, says Irish central bank chief In an interview with The Times in Dublin, Philip Lane noted that as things stand, Britain and the EU operate under the same regulatory regime. “The question is once Brexit has occurred what type of understandings can be developed between the UK and the EU,” Mr Lane said. “The European Commission’s position [on euro clearing] turns on this point and that is the importance of location. It is not going to be important if the regulatory systems are going to be similar.” … London is the global hub for the £880 million a day euro clearing market. The commission published a paper in June calling for more powers to oversee euro clearing after Brexit, although it reserved its position on the future location of the service. – The Times (£) City confident as hiring rates rocket – Guido Fawkes US aviation trade body urges Brexit negotiators to prioritise airline industry America’s biggest aviation trade body has called for the airline industry to be dealt with separately in Brexit negotiations, saying it is “absolutely essential” that new deals are struck with Europe and the US. Airlines for America, whose members include American Airlines, Southwest and United, said there was a particular pressure to get an aviation deal agreed because the sector did not have historic rules to fall back on in the event the UK and EU cannot strike a Brexit deal… “The EU wants to negotiate one large agreement without splitting things out but we believe you have to separate aviation,” Nick Calio, the trade body’s chief executive, said. – Telegraph IMF downgrades UK and US growth forecasts but remains upbeat on global economy The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its predictions for growth in the UK economy. Following “weaker-than-expected activity” in the first three months of the year, the UK’s predicted growth for 2017 was adjusted from 2 per cent down to 1.7 per cent. But the prediction for 2018 growth was maintained at 1.8 per cent as the IMF said that the UK’s fundamentals were strong, but that a breakdown in Brexit negotiations could threaten stable growth. – City A.M. EU ready to retaliate against US sanctions on Russia Brussels is preparing to retaliate against the US if Washington pushes ahead with far-reaching new sanctions on Russia that hit European companies. Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, has called for an urgent review of how Brussels should respond if Europe’s energy companies or other businesses are targeted by sanctions under discussion in the US Congress… The moves reflect deep concerns that the measures could hit European energy companies involved in Russia-related projects, including those engaged in the Nord Stream 2 initiative to build additional undersea natural gas pipelines between Russia and Germany. The Nord Stream 2 project, which is strongly backed by Germany, is controversial within the EU, where it has aroused strong opposition from Poland and many other central and eastern European countries concerned that it will increase energy dependence on Russia. – FT (£) Brussels prepares to bite back at US over Russia sanctions – Politico Honeymoon over for Macron as his approval ratings take a hit French voters turned off by President Macron’s authoritarian and image-conscious streak have helped trigger a ten-point fall in his approval ratings in the past month. The leader’s displays of power and his reform plans are among the reasons that people are losing enthusiasm ten weeks after he was swept into office, according to the pollster Ifop… The polling company also heard widespread complaints about “a presidency based on image-making” and “authoritarianism”… He was deemed to have taken his love of costumes too far on Thursday when he wore a Top Gun-style military flight suit to address air force personnel in Provence. – The Times (£) Wolfgang Münchau: An exit from Brexit would prove a messy affair There is a lot of noise at the moment about an exit from Brexit, as the newly appointed leader of the UK Liberal Democrats put it. The desperation of the pro-Europeans is perhaps best expressed by former prime minister Tony Blair’s statement that it is “absolutely necessary that Brexit does not happen”… The first thing to note is that we are entering a legal grey zone. It may, or may not be possible. The consensus seems to be that it is possible to halt Brexit, but that it requires the explicit consent of the European Council… The reality, though, is that once you take into account the politics of the other EU member states, an exit from Brexit is no longer an option. – Wolfgang Münchau for the FT (£) John Whittingdale: The art of Brexit: Time to up our game on the world stage The art market is a prime example of how British excellence can compete successfully in the global economy. The UK is currently the world’s second largest art market, and accounts for 62 per cent of the entire EU art market… One example of this will be the ability to decide whether we want to continue with the EU’s requirement to levy a tariff on works of art coming to the UK. The minimum requirement under EU rules is five per cent, but this compares unfavourably with other major art markets such as the US and Hong Kong, which do not have such a tariff, and mainland China, which has a lower rate. It was for this reason that the British government opposed the introduction of the levy at the time. Under these and other costly and bureaucratic EU rules, the UK has seen sales fall compared to other competitors such as the US and China. – Former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale MP for City A.M. Peter Spence: Why did the chicken cross the Atlantic? Because the UK was no longer bound by EU rules It is almost inevitable that one controversial US practice – the use of chlorine solutions to disinfect poultry carcasses – will become a crucial issue in post-Brexit trade talks with the US, symbolic of how flexible the UK government is willing to be in striking new deals. The EU banished imports of chickens disinfected with so-called “pathogen reduction treatments” in the 1990s, appealing to concerns about the potential side effects of ingesting chlorine byproducts on human health. What may have once been a sensible concern has been relegated to pseudoscientific alarmism by the years of research conducted since. More than a decade ago, the EU’s own scientific advisers concluded that such rinses “would be of no safety concern”. – Peter Spence for City A.M. US trade deal could hinge on chickens – Telegraph Liam Fox ‘open’ to importing US chlorinated chicken – Sky News Brexit comment in brief The EU tries to strengthen a weak hand – John Redwood’s Diary The UK’s Brexit bill shouldn’t derail talks – Bloomberg editorial The EU repeal bill is Labour’s chance to bring down the government – Geoff Hoon for The Times (£) Escape this Brexit bearpit and start governing – Lord Heseltine for The Times (£) Brexit news in brief Fifteen Tory MPs ‘to sign Theresa May no confidence letter’ – Independent May will stay for at least two years, Tory grandees predict – The Times (£) Scottish Conservative boss Ruth Davidson tells Theresa May to trumpet Tory values or face defeat – The Sun Jacob Rees-Mogg now second favourite to replace Theresa May as next Tory leader – Independent Tories need to explain how we will deliver Brexit, says Jacob Rees-Mogg – Express Ukip loses control of final council majority after defection – The Times (£) Farms to offer ‘leisure activities’ after Brexit to make up for lost EU cash – Express