LONDON: Brexit Secretary David Davis said on Sunday Britain will not honour financial commitments agreed this week with the European Union if they fail to secure a future trade deal, contradicting finance minister Philip Hammond.

“No deal means that we won’t be paying the money,” he told the BBC.

“It is conditional on an outcome. It is conditional on getting an implementation period, it is conditional on a trade outcome,” he said.

“It has been made clear by number 10 already. So that’s not actually new,” Davis added, referring to the Downing Street office and residence of British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Under an initial agreement reached with the EU on Friday, Britain will pay a financial settlement of between $47-52 billion for leaving the bloc in March 2019.

The 15-page document, detailing post-Brexit arrangements for citizens’ rights and the Irish border, was hammered out after nearly six months of negotiations and now allows the talks to move on to a future trade deal.

Davis’ stance contradicts comments from Hammond on Wednesday, who said London would pay the bill regardless of their outcome.

“Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed in this negotiation,” he told a parliamentary committee.

“But I find it inconceivable that we as a nation would be walking away from an obligation that we recognised as an obligation,” he said.

“That is not a credible scenario. That is not the kind of country we are. Frankly, it would not make us a credible partner for future international agreements.”

A spokeswoman for the Tre­asury declined to comment on Davis’ remarks.

The likelihood of Britain leaving the European Union without a future trade deal has “dropped dramatically” now that the two sides have reached a preliminary agreement on their divorce terms, the country’s Brexit secretary said.The progress should give Britain enough time to negotiate a free-trade agreement for once it is outside the EU, making it unlikely the country will have to fall back on World Trade Organisation rules that would impose tariffs, he said.

“The odds, as it were, against a WTO, or no-deal outcome, have dropped dramatically,” Davis said.

The risk of Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal has raised concern among business leaders who feared such a result would hamper trade and investment and weaken the nation’s economy.The government’s goal is to maintain tariff-free access to the EU market for both goods and services, which make up a large part of the British economy. Critics have argued that time already is too short, citing the case of Canada, which took seven years to negotiate a free-trade deal with the EU.

Davis disagreed, saying it will be easier for Britain because the country’s rules and regulations are already aligned with EU rules after 40 years of membership.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2017