Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 13th May 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit talks will tie up Whitehall for years, top UK diplomat warns
The next stage of the Brexit negotiations are going to make the current mess look like a simple affair and will tie up the civil service for years, the former national security adviser and head of Britain’s diplomatic service has warned. Peter Ricketts’ remarks will alarm those who believe the Brexit cloud hanging over the country will evaporate if only Theresa May can get the EU withdrawal agreement passed in parliament. A gathering of experts on Brexit and trade negotiations concluded that the bumpiest ride is yet to come, with Britain’s negotiating hand already weakened and EU unity to be tested in trade talks as member states jostle for position. Ricketts predicted negotiations are likely to go on for years and “encompass pretty much the entire of Whitehall”, with detailed negotiations expected in everything from trade and financial services to data transfer, transport, fisheries and nuclear and gas supply.
12th May 2019 - The Guardian
‘There are only CASUALTIES’ - Liam Fox warns US-China standoff could damage UK
The International Trade Secretary claimed there “are only casualties” during trade wars, as the two nations remain locked in crucial discussion. US President Donald Trump has ordered US officials to begin preparations to impose $300bn (£230bn) tariffs on Chinese imports. He vowed to impose the mammoth tariffs on all remaining imports from China after a major fallout between the two countries.
11th May 2019 - Daily Express
@BBCR4 A no-deal Brexit will mean checks somewhere on goods travelling across the Irish border and a change of UK leadership won't change things
Irish deputy PM @simoncoveney: A no-deal Brexit will mean checks somewhere on goods travelling across the Irish border and a change of UK leadership won't change things. "Realities do not change. This is not a personality based issue" #r4Today https://bbc.in/2VxPtlu
10th May 2019 - @BBCR4
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 9th May 2019
View this newsletter in fullUK and Ireland agree to maintain common travel area after Brexit
The UK and Ireland have signed a deal to maintain their citizens’ rights to travel freely between the two countries after the UK leaves the EU, in an initiative that some Brexiters said had wider significance for future relations with the bloc. The agreement includes a memorandum of understanding between London and Dublin guaranteeing reciprocal rights to social security, health services and education in Ireland and the UK after Brexit. It also confirms the rights of the two countries’ citizens’ to work and vote in local and national parliamentary elections in each other’s jurisdiction. The move to continue arrangements — known as the common travel area — that have been in place since Irish independence in the 1920s was welcomed by Eurosceptic MPs as a sign that bilateral accords can help ease tensions over the UK-Irish border.
8th May 2019 - Financial Times
UK and Ireland sign deal to guarantee rights of citizens after Brexit
The government has signed a Brexit side-deal with Ireland to guarantee Irish and British citizens retain special rights in each others countries in the event of no deal.
The Cabinet Office minister, David Lidington, and Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney, said the deal reflected two years of work to ensure the existing common travel area (CTA) and associated bilateral agreements were secured whatever the outcome of Brexit negotiations. “Our message to Irish citizens in the UK is that your rights will not change. You will still be able to move freely between Ireland, the UK and the islands,” said Lidington. “You will still be able to work, study, draw your pension and access social security and public services in the UK. Above all, you will be welcome. And we welcome the similar commitment the government of Ireland makes to British citizens in Ireland.”
8th May 2019 - The Guardian
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 30th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in fullDonald Trump can deliver Britain a post-Brexit trade boost
Although uncertainty about Brexit persists, London remains eager to prioritise a US-UK free trade agreement when it eventually leaves the EU. In October last year, Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, notified Congress of the administration’s intention to open trade negotiations with Britain. And this year, the UK and the US agreed to continue the “mutual recognition agreement” that ensures their goods meet appropriate regulatory standards in each market. This covers about £12.8bn of trade in sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals to telecoms equipment. Coupled with similar agreements the UK has signed with Australia and New Zealand, the US deal shows Britain is entirely capable of negotiating its own trade pacts. The Brexit negotiations are the outlier, as the UK has followed the US in running into seemingly insurmountable resistance from the EU.
30th Apr 2019 - Financial Times
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 29th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in fullBritain calls China's Belt and Road Initiative 'vision'
Speaking at a summit in Beijing on China’s programme to re-create the old Silk Road joining China with Asia and Europe, Hammond said the BRI must work for everyone for it to turn into a sustainable reality and he offered British expertise in project financing. “The Belt and Road Initiative has tremendous potential to spread prosperity and sustainable development, touching as it does, potentially 70 percent of the world’s population, a project of truly epic ambition,” Hammond said. “The U.K. is committed to helping to realise the potential of the BRI and to doing so in way that works for all whose lives are touched by the project,” he added. “The BRI is an extraordinarily ambitious vision,” Hammond said. “To turn that vision into a sustainable reality, it must work for everyone involved.”
27th Apr 2019 - Reuters
Japan warns that no deal Brexit must be avoided at all costs at Brussels summit
Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, has said that a no deal Brexit must be avoided at all costs at a summit with European Union chiefs in Brussels. Mr Abe said that Japanese companies needed a predictable business environment to continue their operations in the UK before calling on the EU and Britain to ensure a smooth Brexit.
Standing alongside Jean-Claude Juncker., the president of the European Commission and Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, Mr Abe said that Japanese firms had invested in Britain because it was a "gateway to Europe".
25th Apr 2019 - The Telegraph
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 26th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in fullBritain’s Embrace of Huawei Is Really About Brexit
The divorce from Europe is on its way, so Britain is under greater pressure to keep China as a trading partner. British Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision not to ban Huawei Technologies Co. outright was the easier choice. That doesn’t mean it was the right one. The U.S. has been vociferously pushing for countries to exclude telecommunications equipment made by the Chinese firm, saying it’s vulnerable to hacking by state-sponsored actors from its home nation. But Huawei also has some of the most advanced gear for next-generation 5G networks. It’s a conundrum.
24th Apr 2019 - Bloomberg
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 25th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in fullUK's biggest fishing trawler sails up Thames in Brexit warning
“Brexit has huge advantages for fishing if it is properly handled,” said Sir Barney White-Spunner, the chairman of the advisory board of UK Fisheries, which owns the Kirkella. “Our concern is that it is not being properly handled.” He is concerned that in the no-deal continuity arrangements that have been signed with Norway, Iceland and the Faeroes, the UK has granted access to UK markets for these nations to export their fish to British consumers, without demanding reciprocal access to fishing grounds in return.
24th Apr 2019 - The Guardian
MPs campaign to have Donald Trump's UK state visit cancelled
Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, issued a strongly worded statement against the visit. “It beggars belief that on the very same day Donald Trump is threatening to veto a UN resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war, Theresa May is pressing ahead with her plans to honour him with a state visit to the UK,” she said. The Scottish government said in a pointed statement that it had not been consulted about the trip. A spokeswoman added: “We will not compromise our fundamental values of equality, diversity and human rights, and we expect these values to be made clear during the president’s visit to the UK.”
24th Apr 2019 - The Guardian
US-UK trade deal 'more difficult' with a customs union
The US Ambassador to the UK says negotiating a trade deal post-Brexit would be "much more difficult" if the UK is in a customs union with the EU. Woody Johnson also said it would be "more challenging" for the UK "to get control of [its] own trade policy". But he said President Donald Trump is still hopeful doing a "robust, big, very generous trade deal" with the UK after Brexit. President Trump will come to the UK for a state visit in June.
24th Apr 2019 - BBC
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 18th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit: High-tech solution to avoid hard Northern Ireland border 'decade away', leaked Home Office document says
Any hi-tech solution to the problem of how to keep the Northern Ireland border open after Brexit is at least ten years away, a leaked Home Office document has said. The memo said the cost and complexity of using new technology to remove the need for border checks meant "the challenges of this work cannot be underestimated". The finding will come as a blow to Eurosceptic Conservative MPs, who have repeatedly insisted that technology could be used to keep the border open in the event of a no-deal Brexit, removing the need for the controversial Northern Ireland backstop. The memo, seen by Sky News, was drawn up by the Home Office's Policy Unit and sent to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Treasury. It says there could be a possible technological solution but that it would come with a huge array of difficulties. The solution would involve companies uploading data on goods and using blockchain technology, sensors and automated collection to pay tariffs.
17th Apr 2019 - The Independent
US Speaker Nancy Pelosi warns against weakening peace deal
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has begun an official visit to the Republic of Ireland. Speaking on the eve of her visit, she said there would be "no chance whatsoever" of a post-Brexit trade deal between the US and UK if there were any weakening of the Good Friday Agreement. Ms Pelosi is expected to meet Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar on Tuesday evening. It is understood Brexit will be one of the main topics of discussion. She will be accompanied by a delegation of Democrat and Republican congressmen and women. The delegation is expected to visit Northern Ireland later this week.
16th Apr 2019 - BBC
Pelosi talks Brexit, plugs Bono in Irish parliament speech
17th Apr 2019 - Reuters
Good Friday Agreement is a 'beacon to the world' and can't be jeopardised by Brexit - Nancy Pelosi tells Dail
17th Apr 2019 - Irish Independent
Leo Varadkar says US will back efforts to prevent a hard Border
17th Apr 2019 - The Irish Times
Nancy Pelosi Clashed With Tory Brexiteers Over Northern Ireland Border
17th Apr 2019 - Huffington Post UK
UK/US trade deal a 'non-starter' if Brexit hits Northern Ireland peace
16th Apr 2019 - Daily Mail
@Channel4News "We made it clear to all that if there is any harm to the Good Friday accords: no trade agreement."
16th Apr 2019 - @Channel4News
Brexit: No deal means hard Irish border, says Selmayr
One of the European Commission's most powerful officials has said that a no-deal Brexit would mean a hard Irish border. The comments from Martin Selmayr feature in a documentary made by ARTE, the Franco-German broadcaster. The secretary-general of the European Commission was filmed in a meeting with senior MEPs in late 2018. "Let's be very clear - if there is no withdrawal agreement there will be a hard border," he told them. "The worst of all scenarios."
17th Apr 2019 - BBC
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 17th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in fullUS Speaker Nancy Pelosi warns against weakening peace deal
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has begun an official visit to the Republic of Ireland. Speaking on the eve of her visit, she said there would be "no chance whatsoever" of a post-Brexit trade deal between the US and UK if there were any weakening of the Good Friday Agreement. Ms Pelosi is expected to meet Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar on Tuesday evening. It is understood Brexit will be one of the main topics of discussion. She will be accompanied by a delegation of Democrat and Republican congressmen and women. The delegation is expected to visit Northern Ireland later this week.
16th Apr 2019 - BBC
UK/US trade deal a 'non-starter' if Brexit hits Northern Ireland peace
16th Apr 2019 - Daily Mail
@Channel4News "We made it clear to all that if there is any harm to the Good Friday accords: no trade agreement."
16th Apr 2019 - @Channel4News
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 16th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in fullNancy Pelosi Warns 'No Chance Whatsoever' Of US-UK Trade Deal If Brexit Harms Good Friday Agreement
Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, has warned the UK that if Brexit causes “any harm” to the Good Friday Agreement then it can forget about signing any free trade deal with America. Speaking at the London School of Economics on Monday evening, the powerful Democrat said the peace in Northern Ireland must not be “bargained away”. “If there were to be any weakening of the Good Friday accords then there would be no chance whatsoever, a non starter, for a US-UK trade agreement,” she said.
15th Apr 2019 - Huffington Post UK
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 10th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in fullExclusive: Liam Fox tells Tory MPs that customs union will be 'worst of both worlds' in leaked letter
"A customs union - where the UK was obliged to implement the common customs tariff - would allow the EU to negotiate access to UK markets as part of EU trade policy, irrespective of the interests or wishes of the UK. "It will be able to offer full access to the world's fifth biggest market as part of any EU offer, without the need to balance this access by negotiating on key UK offensive interests." He said that countries that negotiate new free trade agreements with the EU will have "automatic access to the UK market with the UK having no reciprocal access". "The key question is that if a trading partner already had access to the UK for no cost, why would it be interested in negotiating a further bilateral agreement?"
9th Apr 2019 - The Telegraph
The Brexiteers need to realise that the Commonwealth is not coming to save them
The Commonwealth does about a sixth of the trade with the UK that the EU does – and has neither the capacity nor the desire to be turned into a significant trading bloc. “We understand the UK wants to come to us (as the Commonwealth), in the fullness of time, to present some post-Brexit bigger, deeper agreement that they would want to negotiate with us,” he says. “We would meet them after three years or something, assess the situation and take stock.” Being put on the backburner like this doesn’t sound like the Global Britain promised by the Breexiteers, where the UK rids itself of the shackles of Europe and spreads its wings to seek global markets across the oceans.
9th Apr 2019 - New Statesman
The myth of the Great British Brexit trade policy
It makes almost no sense for the Brexit debacle to have come down to the issue of an ‘independent British trade policy’. Trade was not a central issue at the referendum and remains wildly misunderstood by public and politicians alike. But we are where we are. If we end up crashing out by accident, or the May government tears itself apart, it will be on the pretext that significant numbers of Tory MPs want that independent trade policy and cannot stomach the restrictions that a customs union would put on Britain’s freedom over trade.
9th Apr 2019 - The Spectator
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 5th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in full@AlanDuncanMP Delighted to sign today the trade continuity agreement with the Dominican Republic
Delighted to sign today the trade continuity agreement with the Dominican Republic
4th Apr 2019 - @AlanDuncanMP
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 4th Apr 2019
View this newsletter in fullBlow to UK global trade as new watchdog chief quits before launch
Liam Fox’s international trade department has faced further criticism for its lack of Brexit readiness after it emerged that the creation of the watchdog tasked with protecting UK companies from unfair global trading practices was behind schedule.
The government said on Wednesday that the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) would not be established in time for a no-deal Brexit. The organisation exists in shadow form only, as a part of the Department for International Trade, and is without a chairman after the person designated unexpectedly quit last week for personal reasons.
3rd Apr 2019 - The Guardian
EU would begin customs controls right after no-deal Brexit
The European Union will immediately introduce customs checks and import duties in the event of a “no deal” Brexit, erecting barriers to British exports ranging from cars to farm produce and preventing consumers bringing in British cheese or meats.
3rd Apr 2019 - Reuters
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 29th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit: Rolled-over UK free trade deals 'are incomplete'
At a Conservative party event in 2017, Liam Fox said: "We're going to replicate the 40 EU free trade agreements that exist before we leave the European Union, so we've got no disruption of trade. "Believe me, we'll have up to 40 ready for one second after midnight in March 2019," the international trade secretary added.
As of 28 March, only eight of the 40 have been signed.
28th Mar 2019 - BBC
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 25th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit trade deals will be worse than current EU deals, says Liam Fox's former trade chief
Countries are likely to offer the United Kingdom worse trade deals than it currently enjoys as an EU member, the former head of Liam Fox's International Trade Department has told Business Insider. "The United Kingdom alone can offer significantly less in terms of market access or government procurement than can all of the European Union," Donnelly said. Major trading partners of the UK including Japan and the USA have indicated that they will seek tough concessions from the UK in trade talks because it is a relatively small trading partner. "Trade negotiators are not sentimental," Donnelly said.
22nd Mar 2019 - Business Insider
US to prioritise trade deal with EU over UK post-Brexit
A US Senator has said that America will prioritise doing a trade deal with the EU over the UK once Brexit has happened. Democratic Senator from Connecticut Chris Murphy is currently on a visit to the UK, Northern Ireland and Ireland to report back to congressional colleagues on Brexit. Senator Murphy said a trade deal that would rescue the British economy post-Brexit was not going to happen. He said that he was "skeptical" that any trade deal with the UK would ever happen, pointing out that there was not enough time to negotiate and pass a deal before the end of President Trump's first term in office and the current Congressional session. While President Trump has spoken of his desire to do a trade deal with the UK, any pact would have to be passed by the US Congress before it could be formally signed into law.
22nd Mar 2019 - RTE.ie
UK secures post-Brexit trade deal with group of Caribbean countries
The Department for International Trade said it had signed an economic partnership agreement with the Caribbean forum (Cariforum) of nations, helping to maintain the imports of good including bananas, rum and sugar to Britain. The deal means the government’s push to roll over EU trade deals from which the UK benefits has yielded agreements covering a little more than a third of its trade with the countries involved.
22nd Mar 2019 - The Guardian
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 21st Mar 2019
View this newsletter in full'EU is FAILING model!' Tycoon Richard Tice calls for Brexit revolution - 'Let's go WTO!'
BREXITEER business tycoon Richard Tice has blasted the European Union for being a “failing model”, insisting that only by leaving can the UK “thrive”.
20th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 20th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullDonald Trump sees 'huge opportunity' for trade deal with Brexit Britain
US President Donald Trump sees "huge opportunity" for a trade deal if the Brexit impasse is solved, according to his national security adviser, John Bolton told Sky News that America is “ready to go” on a trade deal with “a newly independent Britain.” "Trade minister Liam Fox would be welcome here; any member of the government would be welcome here, we can do these deals quickly. We are ready to go. We want to partner with a newly independent Britain,” he said. "The president has been clear he wants a resolution to this issue that allows the United States and Britain to come to trade deals again.”
19th Mar 2019 - Evening Standard
'We're ready for a US-UK deal': Trump adviser John Bolton says America wants to partner with Brexit Britain
Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton has told Sky News that America is "ready to go" with a US-UK trade deal. In a UK exclusive, the former US ambassador to the UN said: "We are ready to go, we are ready to go." "Trade minister Liam Fox would be welcome here; any member of the government would be welcome here, we can do these deals quickly. We are ready to go. We want to partner with a newly independent Britain."
19th Mar 2019 - Sky News
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 19th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullUK reaches post-Brexit trade agreement with Iceland and Norway
Britain on Monday reached an a deal with Iceland and Norway to allow trade to continue unchanged if it leaves the European Union without a deal, trade secretary Liam Fox said. Britain is seeking to replicate around 40 EU bilateral trade deals ahead of its exit from the bloc.
18th Mar 2019 - Reuters
Brexit: trading insults
The UK government set out its proposed tariffs if there is a 'no deal' Brexit. Even if they aren't applied, they may indicate where negotiations will go after the Withdrawal Agreement phase. This united the Irish, Northern Irish and UK business lobbies in fury at the consequences and lack of consultation, though some farming interests can feel relieved. Some EU imports - notably of cars and meat - would become more expensive, and foreign buyers of some UK exports would face price hikes, requiring a sharp shift in the business model of these sectors in the UK.
The next phase of negotiations could be cruel in exposing both the paucity of options facing the UK and the inexperience of Britain's trade negotiators. And even more complex than goods trade is the more important services sector.
18th Mar 2019 - BBC
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 15th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit: UK's no-deal trade plan – and what it means for Ireland north and south
The new regime would mark a shift in favour of products from non-EU countries.
While 82 per cent of imports from the EU would be tariff-free (down from 100 per cent now), 92 per cent of imports from the rest of the world would pay no border duty (up from 56 per cent). :: Are there any special arrangements for Northern Ireland?
Yes, the north would be treated differently to Britain for goods originating in the Republic. In special arrangements for Northern Ireland, the UK's temporary import tariffs would not apply to EU goods crossing the border from the Republic. The decision is designed to avoid a hard border in Ireland.
15th Mar 2019 - Irish Independent
Brexit: Switzerland trade deal signed by Liam Fox attacked for leaving out services
Liam Fox’s claim to have secured a post-Brexit trade deal with Switzerland of “huge economic importance” has been sharply criticised – because it fails to protect about half of current commerce. The agreement – one of the few successfully ‘rolled over’, with the scheduled departure from the EU just 16 days away – does not cover services, a committee of peers has warned. “Most trade in services, which make up 52 per cent of all UK-Swiss trade, is not covered by the deal,” its report says. Trade with Switzerland, which is outside the EU but participates in its single market, is worth about £31bn a year to the UK economy, making a rollover a key government priority
14th Mar 2019 - The Independent
UK signs post-Brexit trade deal with Fiji and Papua New Guinea
Britain has signed a post-Brexit trade deal with the Pacific islands of Fiji and Papua New Guinea, as the government rushes to sign as many agreements as possible before 29 March. The Department for International Trade said the agreement would maintain access to goods including sugar and fish imported from the islands 10,000 miles away. Total trade between Britain and the region is worth about £369m a year.
Signed by the international trade secretary, Liam Fox, the deal eliminates all tariffs on all goods imported from Fiji and Papua New Guinea and will gradually remove around 80% of tariffs on UK exports to these countries.
14th Mar 2019 - The Guardian
No-deal tariff regime would be ‘sledgehammer’ to UK economy, CBI warns
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady accused the Government of showing “reckless disregard for people’s jobs”, warning the proposed tariff regime would be “a hammer blow to our manufacturing industries and the communities they support”.
The general secretary of steelworkers’ union Community, Roy Rickhuss, said: “The Government’s plan for zero tariffs would be a fresh betrayal of British steelworkers, putting further pressure on their jobs at a difficult time for the industry.” In special arrangements for Northern Ireland, the UK’s temporary import tariffs will not apply to EU goods crossing the border from the Republic. The decision – designed to avoid the need for checkpoints which might revive sectarian tensions – has raised fears of smuggling, as ministers insist there will not be a border down the Irish Sea.
14th Mar 2019 - Yahoo!
@LiamFox Signed a trade agreement today with Pacific Islands which will avoid around £19m of tariff duties on UK imports from
Signed a trade agreement today with Pacific Islands which will avoid around £19m of tariff duties on UK imports from
14th Mar 2019 - @LiamFox
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 14th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullUK sets out trade plans to limit no-deal Brexit damage
The price of food and cars imported from Europe would jump under a no-deal Brexit, UK officials revealed on Wednesday in a bid to pressure Conservative MPs to vote to prevent Britain leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement. The British government set out the long-awaited trade plans after Theresa May’s exit agreement with the EU suffered a humiliating second defeat on Tuesday. The plans, which would apply both to imports from the EU and from outside the bloc, would eliminate 87 per cent of tariffs but introduce 10 per cent duties on cars, and levies on beef, chicken and pork as well as protections for the ceramics industry
13th Mar 2019 - Financial Times
Ireland’s no-deal Brexit tariff fears
EU farmers, particularly those from Ireland, would find it much harder to compete and enter the U.K. market, a major export destination for the country. Up to 65 percent of Ireland's cheddar cheese exports go to the U.K. along with large shipments of butter and infant formula. In total, 30 percent of Ireland’s dairy production is sold to the U.K, according to Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board. Ireland’s food exports to the U.K. made up 35 percent of the total in 2017. "The proposed tariff levels are deeply unwelcome, would put Irish butter and cheddar under severe pressure in the U.K. markets at current consumer price rates and would necessitate [price] increases at consumer level in the UK — something that their government desperately wishes to avoid," Dairy Industry Ireland said reacting to the announcement in London.
13th Mar 2019 - Politico
UK sets out trade plans to limit no-deal Brexit damage
The price of food and cars imported from Europe would jump under a no-deal Brexit, UK officials revealed on Wednesday in a bid to pressure Conservative MPs to vote to prevent Britain leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement. The British government set out the long-awaited trade plans after Theresa May’s exit agreement with the EU suffered a humiliating second defeat on Tuesday. The plans, which would apply both to imports from the EU and from outside the bloc, would eliminate 87 per cent of tariffs but introduce 10 per cent duties on cars, and levies on beef, chicken and pork as well as protections for the ceramics industry.
13th Mar 2019 - Financial Times
No-deal Brexit tariffs: The winners and losers
After years of fruitlessly asking for certainty and clarity, many across British business will again feel that they've been presented with a complex, brave new world - and a headache. If these rules come in at the end of the month, it's hard to think anyone will be ready.
13th Mar 2019 - Sky News
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 13th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit: Government has no plans for Irish border controls
The BBC understands the UK government does not intend to collect customs duties or have any other controls at the Irish border in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Instead it will rely on self-reporting by businesses. Details of how the UK will manage the border if there is no deal will be published on Wednesday. Meanwhile the DUP will vote against a motion in Parliament that would rule out the UK leaving the EU with no deal. It is also understood the government's border plan will suggest an app-based system to record cross border trading.
12th Mar 2019 - BBC
UK plan to trade with Commonwealth nations after Brexit is 'utter b**locks', former Australian PM says
Claims Britain will be able to recuperate its trade losses with the EU by dealing with Commonwealth nations are “utter bollocks”, Australia‘s former prime minister has said. Kevin Rudd said the idea trade deals with his country, Canada, New Zealand and India would make up for leaving the EU was “the nuttiest of the many nutty arguments” made by Brexit supporters. Writing in The Guardian, he said that while Australia, Canada and New Zealand would “do whatever they could” to work out new free-trade agreements with the UK, their total population of 65 million people does not “come within a bull’s roar of Britain’s adjacent market of 450 million Europeans”.
12th Mar 2019 - The Independent
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 8th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullMajority of UK’s non-EU trade deals still up in the air
Fewer than half of Britain’s deals with non-EU countries will have been rolled over by the country’s scheduled date of departure from the European bloc, the UK government has said. The Department of Exiting the European Union said that it had identified 161 agreements with non-EU countries — including trade and aviation deals — that would need to be updated after Brexit. Of those, 64 are certain or highly likely to be replicated by March 29 or shortly after, 64 may or may not be, and 33 definitely won’t be.
7th Mar 2019 - Financial Times
Most EU treaties won’t be replicated in UK by 29 March, says minister
Brexit secretary confirms only 43 of 161 agreements seen as essential have been rolled over
7th Mar 2019 - The Guardian
Fear of Brexit disruption stalks Turkey-UK trade ties
Turkey and the UK have a strong political relationship, and have spent the three years since the Brexit vote informally discussing the outline of a future free trade agreement. But Theresa May’s government made clear last month that an Ankara-London deal would not be in place in time for Britain’s scheduled exit date of March 29. Turkey’s status as a customs union partner but a non-EU state means that its hands are tied until the EU has itself struck a deal with the UK, experts said.
7th Mar 2019 - Financial Times
Brexit: Will it affect the Kenyan flower trade?
As Britain prepares to leave the European Union, workers in Kenya's flower industry are closely monitoring developments. Flowers are big business in Kenya and earnings from exports have doubled in the past five years. A key export destination is the UK, which most of the flowers enter after being auctioned in the Netherlands. Growers and exporters in Kenya are asking the same question - what impact will Brexit have on the flower trade?
7th Mar 2019 - BBC
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 7th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullBusinesses 'in dark' over plans to cut trade tariffs
Ministers were accused of leaving businesses in the dark last night as it emerged they could cut up to 90 per cent of import tariffs under a no-deal Brexit. Industry leaders expressed fears of a shock if Britain departed the European Union without an agreement this month and axed duties that shield domestic companies from foreign competition. Corporate concern over Brexit disruption was heightened after Sky News reported that the Department for International Trade planned to cut more than 80 per cent of tariffs on goods if Britain left the EU without a deal on March 29.
6th Mar 2019 - The Times
Government accused of keeping tariff bonfire secret to avoid no-deal Brexit
The government is under fire over a “secret” plan to cut up to 90% of tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Sky News reported late on Tuesday that the government was planning to slash tariffs on 80%-90% of goods if the UK left with no deal, which would benefit consumers but damage the competitiveness of many British factories and farms. Anna Turley, a Labour MP on the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee, said the reported tariff cuts were “unbelievable”.
“Is the government giving up all pretence of Britain being able to make anything any more? This will open the door to floods of imports, from steel to ceramics,” she tweeted.
6th Mar 2019 - The Guardian
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 6th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit: Government to slash up to 90% of trade tariffs if UK leaves EU with no deal
The Government will slash Britain's trade tariffs to more than at any point in history if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal, Sky News has learnt. The Department for International Trade (DIT) intends to cut 80-90% of all tariffs imposed on goods imported into Britain, according to Whitehall sources. The cuts, which will be outlined in documents published if the prime minister fails to get parliamentary backing for her EU withdrawal bill next week, represent a bombshell for many manufacturers and farmers in the UK. Since tariffs are a charge on thousands of types of goods entering the country, they protect domestic producers from overseas competitors.
5th Mar 2019 - Sky News
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 5th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullJapan's ambassador warns more firms could leave UK over Brexit
More Japanese companies may relocate away from the UK in the coming months if Britain does not seal a promising post-Brexit deal, the Japanese ambassador has warned. In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Koji Tsuruoka said Japanese companies had been cutting back on investment in the UK amid the uncertainty. Although both companies emphasised that neither decision was due to Brexit, Mr Tsuruoka said many of Japan's 1,000 or so UK-based companies were now considering how to adapt to post-Brexit life.
4th Mar 2019 - Sky News
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 4th Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullUK-US trade deal: Envoy attacks 'myths' about US farming
Woody Johnson, described warnings over US farming practices as "inflammatory and misleading" smears from "people with their own protectionist agenda". He also said the EU's "Museum of Agriculture" approach was not sustainable, adding: "American farmers are making a vital contribution to the rest of the world. Their efforts deserve to be recognised. "Instead, they are being dismissed with misleading scare-stories which only tell you half the story."
1st Mar 2019 - BBC
US ambassador to UK under fire over defence of chlorinated chicken
1st Mar 2019 - The Guardian
UK says food standards will not be lowered for US trade deal
The UK will not lower food standards to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, the government says. It comes after Washington published its objectives for a US-UK trade pact. The US wants "comprehensive market access" for its farmers' products that would see more US-made food on British supermarket shelves. European Union rules currently limit US exports of certain food products, including chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-boosted beef. If free of EU trade rules, the US want the UK to remove such so-called "sanitary and physiosanitary" standards on imported goods. A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "We have always been very clear that we will not lower our food standards as part of a future trading agreement."
1st Mar 2019 - BBC
Post-Brexit US trade demands would bring in chlorinated chicken and ramp up NHS drug costs, MPs warn
1st Mar 2019 - The Independent
US ambassador dismisses fears about chlorinated chicken under post-Brexit trade deal
1st Mar 2019 - The Independent
Concern over food safety as US seeks greater access to UK markets
1st Mar 2019 - The Guardian
US ambassador says Britain should embrace American farming methods such as chlorinated chicken
1st Mar 2019 - The Telegraph
We now know the great prize of Brexit: becoming Trump’s prey
Recall the fury of the leave crowd when Barack Obama dared puncture the Anglosphere fantasy by warning that a post-Brexit Britain would, in fact, be at “the back of the queue” for a trade agreement with the US, prompting Boris Johnson to reach for his racist dog-whistle and remind British voters that Obama was “part-Kenyan”. Recall too the needy relief of those same Brexiters when Michael Gove interviewed the newly elected Donald Trump and extracted a not-quite-promise that Britain and the US would “get something done very quickly”. This week we got a double glimpse into what that “something” might be – and it wasn’t pretty.
1st Mar 2019 - The Guardian
Britain's hopes of a trade deal with America just suffered a big blow
The Trump administration on Thursday outlined its goals for a free trade deal with Britain in a document that takes a tough line on agricultural products and warns the United Kingdom against getting cozy with China. The list of priorities, which runs to 18 pages, makes sobering reading for a British government that was hoping for a quick deal on trade with the word's largest economy after Brexit. "This is an uncompromising document from the US point of view, with no mention of mutual benefit," said David Henig, the director of the UK Trade Policy Project and a former UK trade official.
1st Mar 2019 - CNN
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 1st Mar 2019
View this newsletter in fullThe U.K. and World Trade Organization Agree on a Post-Brexit Deal
Britain struck a trade deal Wednesday for a post-Brexit world, obtaining approval from other World Trade Organization members to stay part of a competitive market for lucrative government contracts after the country leaves the European Union.
The agreement allows Britain to retain its place among the 47 WTO countries that are involved in the Government Procurement Agreement. The EU’s 28 member nations belong as a single entity, so the bidding agreement’s participating countries signed off on allowing Britain to join as an independent party to the pact.
28th Feb 2019 - Time Magazine
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 28th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit victory 'of sorts': UK secures WTO agreement
BRITAIN has secured a deal of sort with a body connected to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and will remain within the its Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) after it leaves the EU
27th Feb 2019 - Express.co.uk
May using Nixon’s ‘madman theory’ to play chicken with Brexit
The “crazy guy” strategy, as it is sometimes called, is of little value in the UK’s negotiating approach towards the EU. The major flaw is that the “no deal” button over which May’s finger now deliberately hovers would, if triggered, rain down its destruction principally not on the EU-27 but on the UK itself. For the EU to give any credence to the threat of volatility and irrationality, it would have to believe that the UK government is not only completely mad but also colossally stupid.
27th Feb 2019 - The Irish Times
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 26th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullUK to keep trade penalties post-Brexit
"What's crucial is what's missing from the Government's announcement today," said Laura Cohen, chief executive of the British Ceramic Confederation. "We still do not know what they are going to do with those underlying, most favoured nation tariffs, onto which trade remedies are added. "If Government drops these to zero in a no-deal Brexit, then ceramic tiles and tableware, and many thousands of other goods manufactured in this country will be in jeopardy, because a flood of imports will cause untold damage to our domestic markets," she said. "Even a highly experienced authority would struggle with the sheer volume and complexity of reviewing all the transitioned measures, implementation of the UK's new steel safeguards as well as taking on a brand new investigations into dumping and subsidies," said the Director General of UK Steel Gareth Stace. "UK steel producers are at risk of exposure to unfair trading practices whilst the fledgling Trade Remedies Authority wrestles with this mammoth task and plays catch-up with its EU counterpart," he said.
25th Feb 2019 - BBC
This Brexit trade bill threatens parliamentary sovereignty
I am calling for parliament to have the right to set a thorough mandate to govern each trade negotiation, the right of the public to be consulted as part of setting that mandate, transparency in the negotiations, and parliamentary power to amend and reject trade deals. The government offers none of that. The trade bill currently making its way through parliament contains no provision for greater parliamentary involvement in trade agreements. In fact, it provides no formal obligation to even inform or consult parliament on negotiations. As with so many aspects of Brexit, it is a threat to our parliamentary sovereignty. The number of parliamentary defeats this government has faced in 2019 alone, not to mention the margins of defeat and its consistent attempts at undermining parliament have taken away its legitimacy to govern effectively.
25th Feb 2019 - Politics.co.uk
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 25th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullDowning Street delays No Deal Brexit tariffs report to avoid outrage before crunch vote
Downing Street is delaying a bombshell announcement on No Deal tariffs to avoid uproar before a crunch Brexit vote next week. Cabinet sources last night said that long-awaited details of import duties on areas such as food and ceramics will only come “next Thursday or Friday”
21st Feb 2019 - The Sun
Philip Hammond reopens row with Gavin Williamson by saying UK-China relations ‘not made simpler’ by defence secretary’s threats
Philip Hammond risked reopening a cabinet rift with Gavin Williamson by suggesting the defence secretary damaged UK relations with China by suggesting that the UK would deploy an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, just prior to a drive to open trade deal talks
22nd Feb 2019 - The Independent
No-deal Brexit “like jumping off cliff without parachute” says former WTO leader
Britain would go to the bottom of the international pecking order in the case of a no-deal Brexit, a former Director General of the World Trade Organisation has said. Pascal Lamy likened a hard exit to “jumping off a cliff without a parachute”. “What happens in the next days is you move down from first league to fourth league, and you have to apply tariffs, borders, controls and I’m not talking about specific arrangements of airlines, capital markets, nuclear safety. It’s not ready, nobody is ready, for a no deal, which is by the way the reason I think it will not happen. People are wise enough not to jump off the cliff without a parachute,” Lamy said.
22nd Feb 2019 - Euronews
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 22nd Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullTrade pact with Japan ruled out by Brexit deadline
The government has admitted it has run out of time to roll over existing trade pacts with Japan and Turkey in the event of a no-deal Brexit. A document released on Thursday by the Department for Trade showed it was seeking to continue deals with 40 trading partners currently covered by EU membership, accounting for 11% of all UK trade. But it confirmed that in the case of Japan - whose trade pact with the EU only came into force this month - "it is unlikely that we will reach an agreement prior to exit day".
21st Feb 2019 - Sky News
Brexit: Japan trade deal will not be ready by deadline
21st Feb 2019 - BBC
Business fears rise for Brexit rollover trade pacts
21st Feb 2019 - Financial Times
Brexit news: Japan trade deal will not be ready by March 29 deadline, Liam Fox confirms
21st Feb 2019 - Evening Standard
We cannot allow Liam Fox’s post-Brexit trade plans to go unscrutinised
The international trade secretary, Liam Fox, is using the opportunity of the Parliamentary recess to avoid proper scrutiny of plans that threaten our rights, our environment and our democracy. He tabled a general debate on post-Brexit trade agreements with the US, Australia, New Zealand and the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Thursday. And he is expected to launch negotiations soon after the debate – with no chance for parliament to stop him. The government is planning to include investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms in future trade deals. ISDS clauses let foreign investors sue national governments for introducing policies that harm their profits.
21st Feb 2019 - The Guardian
Britain threatens to favour Brazilian beef over Irish as new trade war looms
Britain has upped the ante in the battle over the Brexit backstop, by threatening to favour Brazilian beef over Irish using a system of tariffs and quotas. The British plan, which echoes tactics used against the government of Eamon de Valera during the Anglo-Irish trade war of the 1930s, aims to allow beef-producing countries like Brazil to dodge the brunt of the new import taxes, or tariffs, after Brexit. It will mean a huge quantity of low-priced Brazilian beef being pushed into the UK market, with quality Irish beef being priced out.
21st Feb 2019 - irish Independent
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 21st Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullMuch to fear from post-Brexit trade deals with ISDS mechanisms
ISDS clauses in trade deals allow foreign investors to sue national governments for any measures that harm their profits. These cases take place in secretive private arbitration courts and can cost the taxpayer billions. Previous cases brought against governments using ISDS include a Swedish energy firm suing Germany for introducing policies to curb water pollution; US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly suing Canada for trying to keep medicines affordable; and French multinational Veolia suing Egypt for increasing its national minimum wage. ISDS courts give international investors a legal system that neither ordinary people or domestic businesses can access, with low levels of transparency, no appeals system and high costs.
20th Feb 2019 - The Guardian
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 20th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit: What trade deals has the UK done so far?
The UK has (so far) only agreed six deals. These include relaxing certain rules, reducing taxes (tariffs) on imports and exports, or granting easier market access.
The government estimates that about 11% of UK trade relies on the EU's agreements with 70 countries. The "continuity" agreements the UK has struck are:
Israel (18 February) - Palestinian Authority (18 February) - Switzerland (signed 11 February) - The Faroe Islands (1 February) - Eastern and Southern Africa (31 January)- Chile (30 January)
19th Feb 2019 - BBC
EU says UK will struggle to match its free trade deals
The UK will struggle to conclude the same high quality free trade deals as the European Union due to its small size and continuing uncertainty over Brexit, the EU’s agriculture commissioner has said. Phil Hogan, who was visiting Australia for talks on an EU-Australia free trade agreement, also warned that a no-deal Brexit would result in a big jump in food prices in the UK, a move that would cause the public to punish those responsible at the ballot box. “Size matters in trade,” Phil Hogan told the FT in an interview. “Five hundred million customers will always resonate more with a third country when they want to do a trade deal with the EU, rather than 65m. This is what Mr [Liam] Fox is finding out as he travels around the world. Japan recently told him: ‘Come back to us when we see the implementation of the EU deal’.”
19th Feb 2019 - Financial Times
UK secures a trade continuity deal with Palestine
Our trade continuity agreement with the Palestinian Authority will help give UK and Palestinian businesses, exporters and consumers the certainty they need to continue trading freely as the UK prepares to leave the EU. @AbeerOdeh11
19th Feb 2019 - @LiamFox
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 19th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullJapan almost cancelled Brexit talks due to 'high-handed' letter – report
Japanese officials have reportedly accused Jeremy Hunt and Liam Fox of taking a “high-handed” approach towards a post-Brexit free trade deal, and briefly considered cancelling bilateral talks due to take place this week. The Financial Times cited unnamed officials in Tokyo who reacted with dismay to a letter sent on 8 February in which Hunt, the foreign secretary, and Fox, the international trade secretary, insisted that “time is of the essence” in securing a trade deal with Japan, the world’s third-biggest economy.
18th Feb 2019 - The Guardian
UK-Japan trade talks sour after letter from Hunt and Fox
Relations with Japan have soured as a result of a letter from the UK foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt and international trade secretary Liam Fox which told their Japanese counterparts that “time is of the essence” and said flexibility would be required on both sides. Although UK officials insisted that the letter, sent on February 8, had been couched in standard diplomatic language, Japanese officials believe that it reflected an increasingly high-handed approach from the British side. In response, officials in Tokyo briefly considered cancelling a round of trade talks this week.
17th Feb 2019 - Financial Times
Theresa May sets course for Brexit disaster
The emergency sirens are whirring for a no-deal Brexit — only this time it’s not a drill. In European capitals there is now mounting alarm that Theresa May has set Britain on course for a diplomatic disaster, by fundamentally misjudging how far EU leaders are prepared to bend at the last minute in their summit just a week before Britain’s EU departure date.
18th Feb 2019 - Politico.eu
Brexit negotiatiors settle for legal concessions ahead of EU showdown
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox will present EU officials with a “legal way forward” that aims to calm the nerves of Brexiteers over the controversial Irish backstop. Mr Cox will aim to secure fresh legal text that allows him to reverse his previous warnings that Britain could be locked in an indefinite custom union backstop by the EU. In a move that will enrage Brexiteers, Theresa May’s new-look negotiation team will sideline the hunt for “alternative arrangements” in favour of legal assurances.
18th Feb 2019 - Daily Express
Another deal signed! Liam Fox secures trade with Israel - 'An important step'
The continuity agreement with Israel effectively rolls over the current trading terms the UK has as a member of the EU with the country. The deal will protect trade worth £4 billion between the two countries, according to the Department for International Trade.
18th Feb 2019 - Express.co.uk
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 18th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullUK lorries and planes WILL be allowed into Europe after a no deal Brexit
British lorries and planes will be allowed into Europe even if there is a no deal Brexit, newly published contingency plans from Brussels have revealed. The EU Council said 'basic' air and road links would be maintained for at least several months to avoid a catastrophic collapse in ties after exit day on March 29.
17th Feb 2019 - Daily Mail
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 15th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullBrexit: Is there a 10-year-rule to sort out trade?
If the UK leaves the EU with no deal, it will fall back on the rules of the WTO - the basic building blocks of international trade. At that point, the UK could choose to continue applying zero tariffs to goods being imported from the EU. But under rules set out in Article 1 of Gatt (which are commonly known as Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rules), it would then also have to offer the same terms to the rest of the world. If no-one had to pay anything to get their goods into the UK, that would certainly mean cheap imports. But it would also put a lot of British companies out of business and there would be no obligation on other countries to offer the UK the same tariff-free access in return
14th Feb 2019 - BBC
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 14th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullPost-Brexit trade partners ask UK to lower human rights standards
Britain has received demands to roll back its human rights standards in exchange for progress on post-Brexit trade deals, including from some countries that ...
13th Feb 2019 - The Guardian
Switzerland to impose immigration QUOTA for working Britons under no deal Brexit plans
The Bern government is set to introduce a new quota system, giving 3,500 British citizens the right to work in the country after the UK leaves the EU, according to Reuters. The number of those who can apply for residence permits will be capped at 2,100. Switzerland will also offer 1,400 short-stay visas for Brits as part of the system which will replace the current free movement agreement between the two countries.
13th Feb 2019 - Express.co.uk
Brexit: UK has rolled over just £16bn out of £117bn trade deals
The government’s push to roll over EU trade deals from which the UK currently benefits has yielded agreements covering only £16bn of the near-£117bn of British trade with the countries involved. Despite frenetic efforts by ministers to ensure the continuity of international trade after the UK leaves the EU on 29 March, the international trade secretary, Liam Fox, has so far only managed to secure deals with seven of the 69 countries that the UK currently trades with under preferential EU free trade agreements, which will end after Brexit.
13th Feb 2019 - The Guardian
Liam Fox Branded 'Abject Failure' Over Lack Of Pre-Brexit Trade Deals
Cabinet minister Liam Fox was accused of “abject failure” after it emerged just six of the 40 trade deals he promised will actually be signed in time for Brexit. The trade secretary, who once said a free trade agreement with the EU would be the “easiest in human history”, had vowed to “roll over” 40 EU deals with 70 countries before Britain breaks from the bloc on March 29. But, according to a document leaked to The Sun, Fox has secured just a handful and is now asking countries to sign non-binding “letters of understanding” instead.
13th Feb 2019 - Huffington Post
Brexit: Britain’s trade application that the WTO rejected
What happened was that a number of WTO members, which included the U.S., New Zealand and more than a dozen major exporters said they opposed the U.K.’s approach and terms and then formally objected to the British government application, the consequence was that Britain’s proposal to join on WTO terms were rejected … by some of the very countries that Liam Fox is claiming Britain will be able to trade with. Even Peter Mandelson, sacked from high office as many times as Fox has been could see that WTO rules would not instantly work for Britain. Trading under WTO rules, would, he argued “wipe out agreements and take away preferential access”. And how right he was on both counts.
5th Feb 2019 - TruePublica.org
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 13th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullForget the Brexit deal – the Political Declaration will keep us locked in a battle with the EU for decades
Overcoming the many contradictions in what is no better than a wishlist of headings for a future EU-UK partnership will take many years. The free trade agreement between Canada and the EU was first proposed 22 years before it was signed and it took seven years to negotiate. It does not cover services or the rights of Canadians to live freely in Europe or EU citizens to work or retire in Canada.
12th Feb 2019 - The Independent
Brexit warning: Populist parties may torpedo UK trade deal after EU elections – report
According to a new report, populist parties across Europe are set to make massive gains in May’s European Parliamentary elections – and some feel they may try to sabotage a post-Brexit trade deal between the bloc and the UK. The ECFR warns many parties are planning to “destroy the European project from within”, and could also vote down any future UK-EU trade deal after Brexit
12th Feb 2019 - Express.co.uk
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 12th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullGovernment to miss Brexit trade deal target
Government officials have admitted for the first time that they will not be able to renegotiate all trade treaties involving the European Union by the end of March.
The UK is party to around 40 European treaties, covering trade with more than 70 countries and making up 12% of the UK's total trade. In the event of no deal, each would need to be rewritten, either with new terms or by mirroring the existing terms, a process known as "rolling over". Two years ago, the International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said that updated versions of all those treaties should be ready to sign within a minute of Britain leaving the EU.
11th Feb 2019 - Sky News
The impact of Brexit on Wales: 14 serious ways the country loses out if we crash out of European Union
Wales Online explains in a highly detailed, comprehensive analysis just how badly Brexit could impact Wales, based on several pieces of government research. It lists fourteen reasons and parts of the Welsh economy that stand to be hit and why. It also underlines that Wales could be the region hardest hit by Brexit
11th Feb 2019 - Wales Online
UK signs post-Brexit trade deal with Switzerland
The UK and Switzerland have signed a deal to continue trading after Brexit as they did before it. The "continuity agreement" - based on the EU's existing free trade deal with Switzerland - was agreed in December but ratified on Monday. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the deal would "continue the preferential trade that we have". The UK is seeking to replicate about 40 EU free trade agreements, covering more than 70 countries.
11th Feb 2019 - BBC
UK, 3 non-EU nations ink expat residency deal
The British government has agreed to allow citizens of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein already living in Britain to remain after Brexit even if the country leaves the European Union without a deal. The agreement finalized on Friday should remove the uncertainty a “hard” Brexit scenario posed for some 15,000 citizens of the three non-EU nations who live in Britain. The deal’s reciprocal arrangement also clarifies plans for some 17,000 British citizens who reside in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
11th Feb 2019 - Associated Press
No-deal Brexit 'could cost 600,000 jobs worldwide': study
Researchers at the IWH Institute in Halle, eastern Germany, examined what would happen if UK imports from the remaining EU fell 25 per cent after Brexit. They reckoned that some 103,000 jobs would be under threat in Europe's largest economy Germany and 50,000 in France.
12th Feb 2019 - CNBC TV18
Italy explores its own "bilateral Brexit deal" with Britain as its economic crisis nears danger level
Italy is drawing up emergency plans to safeguard financial stability and keep trade with the UK flowing even if there is a no-deal Brexit, if necessary through a bilateral deal between Rome and London. The country’s insurgent Lega-Five Star coalition is increasingly worried that a mishandling of the EU’s Brexit crisis could push Italy's fragile economy into a dangerous downward slide and risk a funding crisis for its sovereign debt at a treacherous moment. Premier Giuseppe Conte has told his Brexit Task Force to focus urgently on ports, airports, customs, and the handling of food trade, as well as the status of Italians living in the UK.
10th Feb 2019 - The Telegraph
Trade Deals/Negotiations - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 11th Feb 2019
View this newsletter in fullExclusive: Secret No-Deal Brexit Plan To Slash Tariffs On All Imports
Ministers are secretly planning to unilaterally cut tariffs on all imports to zero in the event of a no-deal Brexit, in a move that could flood the market with cheap goods and “ruin” industry, HuffPost UK has learnt. Trade Secretary Liam Fox wants to use executive powers – reserved only for ministers – to make a last-minute change to the Trade Bill which would allow the government to dramatically slash tariffs on all foreign goods. It has been described by manufacturing union the GMB as “the ultimate Brexit betrayal”.
10th Feb 2019 - Huffington Post UK
Where can I move my cheese
Liam Fox is scrambling to replicate the benefits of the 40 trade deals Britain enjoys with 70 countries thanks to its membership of the EU. The task of crossing out the letters “EU” in these agreements and replacing them with “UK” has proved tougher than expected. A handful have been successfully rolled over, with Switzerland, Israel, Chile and a clutch of southern African nations saying they will continue to trade with Britain on the same terms after Brexit. Yet officials at Fox’s Department for International Trade (DIT) briefed business leaders last week that “most” of the deals may not be ready in time for the March 29 deadline — including those with large markets such as Japan, South Korea and Canada.
10th Feb 2019 - Sunday Times
Japan seeking big concessions from Britain in trade talks
Japan is seeking tougher concessions from Britain in trade talks than it secured from the EU, while negotiations between London and Tokyo are also being slowed by the looming risk of no-deal Brexit. Japanese trade negotiators are confident they can extract better terms, the Financial Times reported, in a sign of the mounting difficulties facing UK officials as they attempt to line up post-Brexit trade deals around the world.
9th Feb 2019 - The Guardian
Here's What US Lobbyists Want Donald Trump To Get From A Post-Brexit Trade Deal
U.S. lobbyists for big firms have made more than 130 demands, which need to be include or any potential trade deal to go ahead between the USA and the UK. These include: Changing how NHS chiefs buy drugs to suit big US pharmaceutical companies; Britain scraps its safety-first approach to safety and food standards; Law changes that would allow foreign companies to sue the British state; Removal of protections for traditional British products.
8th Feb 2019 - Huffington Post
Business expresses fury at UK failure to roll over EU trade deals
The UK government has told businesses it cannot guarantee the British economy will be covered by “most” of the EU’s global network of trade agreements immediately after Brexit — even if parliament approves Theresa May’s divorce deal with Brussels
6th Feb 2019 - Financial Times
UK and Faroe Islands sign trade continuity agreement
The UK has signed a new trade continuity agreement with the Faroe Islands. With almost £200 million worth of fish and crustaceans brought into the UK from the Faroe Islands in 2017, this agreement will allow imports to continue tariff-free and enable businesses to trade as freely as they do now. Trading on these preferential terms will secure savings and help to safeguard access to fish products from the Faroe Islands. Consumers in the UK will potentially benefit from greater choice and lower prices for fish and seafood such as Atlantic salmon, haddock and halibut.
1st Feb 2019 - UK Government