LONDON \u2014 Boris Johnson, the frontrunner for the Tory leadership, said his government would \u201cnever\u201d impose checks on the border in Northern Ireland and would not \u201cwant\u201d to impose tariffs on goods entering the U.K.<\/p>\n
But pressed on what would happen in a no-deal Brexit scenario, the former foreign secretary acknowledged that the U.K.s destiny would not lie entirely in its own hands. \u201cIts not just up to us; its up to the other side as well,\u201d he told the BBCs News at Ten on Monday night. \u201cAnd there is an element, of course \u2014 a very important element \u2014 of mutuality and cooperation in this.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be working with our friends and partners to make sure that we have an outcome that is manifestly in the interests of people, of businesses, communities on both sides of the Channel,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Johnson reiterated his intention to \u201cget Brexit done by October 31st,\u201d whether he had passed a deal through parliament or not. Asked what a no-deal scenario would mean for trade and the Irish border, he said: \u201cIn the real world, the U.K. government is never going to impose checks or a hard border of any kind in Northern Ireland. Thats just number one. Number two: in the real world, the U.K. government is not going to want to impose tariffs on goods coming into the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n
That suggests a Johnson government would prioritize keeping consumer prices low over protecting sectors of the domestic economy from international competition in a no-deal scenario. U.K. farmers and parts of the manufacturing sector have warned they are vulnerable to cheap imports if the government lowered tariff barriers to goods from around the world.<\/p>\n