LONDON (Reuters) - European companies face potential tariffs of as much as 14 billion pounds ($18.28 billion) a year if the Britain and the European Union fail to reach a trade agreement, Britain’s trade minister Liam Fox said on Monday.

“If we got no agreement with the European Union that would be very harmful to European trade too. European businesses would have to pay tariffs to access the UK’s market, possibly to the tune of as much as 14 billion pounds a year,” Fox told BBC TV.

“That is quite a big business tax to apply to European businesses. It is everyone’s interest that we reach an agreement and do it as quickly as possible.”