Brexit: the rotting corpse of a unicorn

Rob

LOL the unicorn is really really dead (and rotting) but many leavers like in the film Weekend at Bernie’s have stuck sunglasses on it and are propping it up to pretend it is still alive.

 

Leaver voters have you worked out yet how right wing politicians manipulate you into voting against your own interests?

Remember the big bus that told you that if you voted to leave the EU they could/would spend a whole load of money on te NHS

Those people are now in power and guess what they have just cut the amount of money going to the NHS and in real terms cut NHS staff’s wages as well (the same people they were so loudly clapping just months ago)

I ask again - can you tell me any real benefit your Brexit vote has brought the UK?



Could you say that this is a bit of a sick joke now

 

Leavers – can you tell us how Brexit has benefited the UK yet? Why are you so quiet?

We waited and we see

So some import-export information is coming and I’ve heard that some leaves are celebrating that EU imports into the UK have dropped although I’m not sure why many of those imports are of thing that the UK does not produce or grow so a scarcity of such produce will just make them more expensive. But the other thing is that UK exports have plummeted for example Italy - imports from that country into the UK are down 38% but UK exports to Italy are down by 70% (nearly twice as much) that is very, very bad news for the UK especially if that kind of drop is indicative of what is happening across the EU.

I don’t think I need to remind leavers that countries make money by exporting it bring money into the country imports sees money leaving the country.

What we have done is make it much harder to export while at the moment at least making it much easier for EU countries to import because at the moment we don’t do any checks on imported goods (we are literally just waving them through) this very much disadvantages UK exporters who are having to deal with all the extra red tape that leaving the EU single market has caused (wow imagine finding out the EU cut down on red tape)

The problem is that just waving through imports is against WTO rules and if we don’t stop we are likely to end up in court so the plan was to end in the summer and bring in checks and such ONLY experts have warned that that is likely to cause shortages in the supermarkets and possible panic buying so the new plan is to carry on waving stuff through only as said that is against WTO rules (hey what next get back control by leaving the WTO)

 

The thing about Nero supposedly fiddling while Rome burned was that it was a metaphor for his bad rule and his uncaring attitude to what happened to ‘common’ people. But there is something else Nero saw the destruction as an opportunity to build a fantasy palace.

To me the Brexit establishment, those right wing politicians and media owners that pushed on Brexit are like Nero - they too are ‘fiddling while Rome burns’ they too are bad rulers with an uncaring attitude to what happens to ‘common’ people and they too see the destruction caused by Brexit as an opportunity to build a neoliberal fantasy Britain.

And like Nero’s Domus Aurea (Golden House) that he tried to build over the burnt homes and charred remains of poor Romans I don’t think that neoliberal Britain will even arise from the ruined lives and devastated economy that Brexit will cause.

I think ‘Britain unchained’ will go the way of Nero’s palace which was considered such an embarrassment by Nero's successors that they quickly build over it.

 

Haha Still Chirping on about This ?
Nice song here for ya !

 

And This Doesn't Mean I want To talk about your Obsession anymore just having a laugh (at your expense I suppose !)

 

Mal my old friend posting and running again I see.

But the song still doesn’t answer the question you and NO OTHER leaver has been able to answer –

Can any Brexit supporter explain what we have won yet?

I mean you can tell people to fuck off – but that doesn’t mean they are wrong and you are right - in fact if they have information, evidence and explanations and your only reply is ‘Fuck off’ then it’s likely you haven’t a clue what you are on about – rather than been funny it just comes across as sad and rather pathetic.

It is also rather sad and pathetic to post and run away like you always do, I feel sorry for you I mean it must be rather hard to find out that all the remainers got it so right and you got it so wrong.

Poor Mal poor, poor Mal

 

Mal

Is it a bad thing to love your country and the people in it and wish the best for them?

If there is a wrong that is hurting people is it bad to want to put things right so people don’t suffer?

I mean you and the other leavers never really seemed to care about the country or its people or you would have listened to the warnings and become informed about the dangers of Brexit rather than just accepting the lies of those pushing Brexit without question.

Look Mal I know it’s hard to realise you fell for a con but that is the only way we can right the wrongs that have been done and fix the damage caused by your unwillingness to become informed.

Think about this –

Why were you never able to address the criticism of Brexit?

Why can’t you answer the simple question about the supposed benefits of Brexit?

Why can’t you or any other Brexit supporter point to any real and tangible good from the process of Brexit?

Why have none of the things promised by those who conned you into supporting Brexit become true?

 

I wonder what the 'Little englanders' have to say about this ???


At least 10 EU countries will not extradite criminals to UK because of Brexit
France, Germany and Poland among countries who will not send their own nationals to Britain

Lizzie Dearden
Home Affairs Correspondent
@lizziedearden
3 hours ago
comments

At least 10 EU countries will no longer extradite their nationals to face prosecution in the UK because of Brexit, the government has admitted.

In correspondence with the House of Lords EU Committee, it said Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden will be “invoking constitutional rules as reason not to extradite their own nationals to the UK”.

A letter from the Home Office said it amounted to “an absolute bar on the extradition of own nationals” to the UK.

Additionally, Austria and the Czech Republic will only extradite their own nationals to Britain with their consent.

It means that British authorities may have to attempt prosecutions in other countries, or circulate wanted criminals on an Interpol database in the hope they leave their home nation and can be caught elsewhere.

European Arrest Warrant system, which allows a streamlined extradition process between EU states and has been used for high-profile terrorists, drug smugglers and murderers.

Read more:

• Brexit: Police warn of ‘major operational impact’ when UK loses access to EU crime databases
• Sharing of crime-fighting data ‘slower and clunky’ under Brexit deal, former national security adviser warns
• European police will be barred from cooperating with UK if Boris Johnson waters down Human Rights Act

As part of its post-Brexit security agreement, the UK has drawn up new extradition processes, but they do not have the same power to bypass constitutional barriers.


EU states can also refuse to surrender suspected criminals if the alleged offence does not exist in their country, or it is a “political” crime.

Richard Martin, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead on Brexit planning, previously told the Home Affairs Committee that a new national extradition unit was formed in December.

He said that where countries refuse to extradite suspects, police have two choices: “One is we work with the Crown Prosecution Service and decide whether it is in the public interest to try and prosecute these individuals in their home countries.

“The second is we circulate them anyway on Interpol because as soon as they enter another country they’re fair game, so we can arrest them in that country and bring them back.”

A report published by the Lords EU Committee on Friday said the new extradition arrangements were “untested” and that their “operational effectiveness” should be scrutinised.

Dominic Raab Admits Security Tools At Risk After Brexit After Theresa May Raises Concerns
Peers also raised concern over the capability of the EU to terminate security cooperation over data protection rules and human rights.

Committee chair Lord Ricketts, a former national security adviser, said that although the agreement had avoided a feared “cliff-edge” for law enforcement, there were “still grounds for considerable caution”.

“These are a complex and untested set of arrangements and their effectiveness will depend crucially on how they are implemented at the operational level,” he added.

“The provisions on data protection are particularly fragile. If the UK does not remain in step with changes to EU data protection laws, or if the UK is found to have breached fundamental rights when handling personal data, then this could trigger the suspension, or even termination, of all the justice and security cooperation.”

The report said that the EU will continue to monitor UK data protection rules, and hold it to “higher standards” as a country outside the EU.

Peers warned that the situation increases the scope for legal challenges, which could trigger a suspension of the security agreement.

The document states that it can be terminated by either the UK or EU with nine months’ notice, for reasons including derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).


It is enshrined in British law through the Human Rights Act - but that is currently under review.

The law enforcement part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement allows the continued sharing of policing and criminal justice data, including on DNA, fingerprints, air passenger information and criminal records.

But the UK lost access to the EU Schengen Information System (SIS II) database, which was previously integrated with the Police National Computer and searched more than 600 million times a year.

The Lords EU Committee report called the change the “most significant gap in terms of lost capability”, adding: “It means that, for the time being, law enforcement officers can no longer immediately have access to real-time data about persons and objects of interest, including wanted and missing persons.

“The fallback system, the Interpol I-24/7 database, currently provides data in a matter of hours, not seconds.”

Peers said that its success “depends heavily” on EU states accepting the additional workload of ‘double-keying’ data into both the SIS II and Interpol systems.

“We did not receive any clear evidence from the government on how it planned to secure such commitments from EU member states to do so,” the report said.

“We therefore remain concerned about the effect of the loss of access to SIS II on the operational effectiveness of UK police and law enforcement agencies.”

Kevin Foster, a Home Office minister, said the security agreement includes streamlined extradition arrangements.

“We continue to work closely with domestic and EU partners to monitor the new arrangements and have excellent cooperation with EU member states on a wide range of law enforcement and criminal justice issues,” he added.

“Some EU member states have long-held constitutional bars against the extradition of their own nationals to non-EU countries, which is why we negotiated a specific agreement which allows for offenders to face justice via another route, even where a country will not extradite their own national.”

 

Useless Eustace !!!


‘Let him answer the question, Barry’: Parliamentary committee on fishing descends into Handforth-esque chaos
‘Where is Jackie Weaver when you need her?’ viewer asks

Andy Gregory
14 hours ago
comments

A Westminster committee has drawn comparisons with the now-infamous Handforth Parish Council Zoom meeting, after several terse outburst from MPs threatened to plunge a hearing on post-Brexit fish and meat exports into farce.

While the first 49 or so minutes of Thursday’s hearing of the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee passed innocuously enough, trouble was evidently brewing in the digital corridors of power.

It all came to a head as Labour’s Barry Gardiner pressed environment secretary George Eustice over the UK’s apparent blindness with regards to the amount of fish that EU boats are still catching in British waters, following a report in Fishing Daily reported that – after the near collapse of a Brexit deal over fishing quotas – not a single European vessel was inspected at sea in January or February.

Mr Gardiner’s insistent questioning and somewhat measured delivery – apparently aided by extensive on-screen notes –appears to have pushed committee chair Neil Parish beyond the brink.

Bursting forth with pent-up frustration, Mr Parish exclaimed: “Barry, for goodness’ sake, we are are hour into this.”

Handforth parish council: The history of a feud

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“Your questions are too long, Barry,” Mr Parish continued to shout, eventually interrupting an indignant Mr Gardiner’s protestations to bellow: “Well let him answer the question, Barry.”

Gesticulating heavily, Mr Parish, added: “For goodness’ sake please, it’s going on too long, your question. Get to the end of the question.”


Yet a defiant Mr Gardiner sought to hammer home the importance of his questions, saying: “Three months on, we still have no realtime knowledge of what 1,500 EU boats are catching, do we? And that includes the super trawlers that…”

But he was again interrupted – this time by Tory MP Sheryll Murray, who interjected to question “on a point of order” whether Mr Gardiner’s point was related to the EU, or was in fact a “fisheries management” issue.


A distinctly glum-looking Mr Gardiner responded curtly to affirm that the monitoring of EU fishing catches was indeed an issue related to the EU.

At this point, after arguably prompting the furore with his initial outburst, Mr Parish – who was later gifted the additional surname of “Council” by The Independent’s deputy political editor on Twitter – said: “Right, let’s not have an argument”, calling on Mr Eustice to “give an answer to Barry, please, and then we must move on”.

A possibly relieved Mr Eustice prefaced his somewhat vague response with the phrase, “in the interest of time” – going on to insist that he had not laid eyes upon a press release by his own department stating that at-sea inspectors had boarded 41 EU vessels last month, which Mr Gardiner alleged was published “in the last hour ... no doubt because [Mr Eustice] correctly anticipated a question following the Fishing Daily report”.

Seeking to move beyond the fracas, Mr Parish then even went to far as to side with Mr Gardiner in demanding that the secretary of state should provide the committee with a written explanation “of what’s happening, how we are going to board the boats, [and] how we are going to check the data” – following his department’s last-minute revelation that just 41 EU boats were inspected last month.

But the committee chair could not resist rolling his eyes skywards as he granted Mr Gardiner “one last question, please”.

The exchange – somewhat less staid than those typically observed during parliamentary committee hearings – drew hilarity on social media, after a clip was posted to Twitter by The Daily Telegraph’s Whitehall editor Harry Yorke.

“This may be one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched at a Parliamentary select committee,” he wrote. “Barry Gardiner and Neil Parish go full Handforth Parish council over [fish]”.

Other social media users wasted no time in drawing similar comparisons to the furious and eternally quotable parish council meeting that set the internet abuzz in February, encapsulating for many the awkwardness thrown up by the lags and pauses of current videoconferencing technology, not to mention shining a spotlight on the eccentric, combative – and all-too-often unseen – world of local democracy.

“He has no authority here,” one Twitter user quipped, while another clearly felt the committee needed its very own acting clerk, writing: “Where is Jackie Weaver when you need her?”

 

Yet another 'Brexit' defeat !!!

Brexit: UK meat industry fears losing up to 50% of exports
Industry chiefs urge government to forge standards deal with EU to ease ‘enormous’ trade friction

Adam Forrest@adamtomforrest
1 day ago
comments


Health certificates and other checks required on British meat exported to Northern Ireland
(PA)
The UK’s meat industry faces a permanent loss of up to half of all its exports because of ongoing problems with “mountains” of Brexit red tape, a leading trade body has warned.

The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) said “systemic weaknesses” in current trade arrangements meant a potential loss of trade for UK exporters of between 20 and 50 per cent.

A new report by the BMPA found meat producers also face up to £120m a year in extra trading costs every year because of the deal forged by Boris Johnson’s government at the end of last year.

The body has urged the government to seek a new agreement on food standards with Brussels to ease problems sending food to both EU, and from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.

It wants Downing Street to forge a “common veterinary area” with the EU so standards could be made equivalent – removing many of the checks currently needed at the borders.

• Plant and animal checks ‘permanent barrier’ to trade, study warns
• Reopen EU talks to help rescue services trade, PM told
• David Frost appointment ‘hits hopes of deal to lift border checks’

“The export hurdles we face are now in plain sight and are not going away,” said chief executive Nick Allen. “We need government to urgently re-engage with both the industry and the EU to work out detailed and lasting solutions.”

Last year’s UK-EU trade deal failed to include an agreement to avoid form-filling and physical inspections on plant and animal products.


Peter Hardwick, the BMPA’s trade policy adviser, said the current level of “trade friction” experienced by British meat exporters was “enormous, absolutely enormous”.

Speaking to MPs on the international trade committee on Thursday, he urged the government to consider a veterinary agreement with the EU to help “reduce that friction”.

Mr Hardwick said it was taking “twice as long and costs us twice as much to get products to the EU as it did before the end of the transition period”.

It comes as a new report by peers urged the government to consider an agreement with EU on common standards to reduce the “substantial barriers” for British traders.

A report by the Lords EU goods sub-committee warned small firms are “feeling the squeeze” since the limited Brexit trade deal with Brussels came into force in January.

The peers’ report cautioned that, without action, the physical checks currently in place on animal and plant products could become a “permanent barrier to trade” – with meat and live shellfish products particularly badly hit by the new inspection regime.
Baroness Verma, the committee’s chairwoman, said: “The Brexit trade deal struck with the EU may have prevented the nightmare of a no-deal exit for the UK, but a lot of unfinished business remains between the two sides.”

She added: “The government must take an ambitious approach to trade ties with the EU. Swift action and further funding is needed to minimise future disruption.”

The peers’ report notes that Maros Sefcovic, the EU Commission’s vice-president, said last month that an agreement on common standards was still “on the table”.

However, The Independent revealed last month that the prospect of fresh talks with Brussels had been dashed by the appointment of hardliner David Frost, the trade deal negotiator, as the new Brexit minister.

 

Have you noticed that not even the Pro Brexit media have been able to highlight any benefits to Brexit

We have very loud Brexit supporters in the mainly pro-brexit media and not one of them seems able to find an upside or just one company that is thriving due to Brexit

We have had lots of tales of woe, the extra forms that are needed because of Brexit, the inability to send or receive goods of others saying they are just about holding on and tales of companies moving wholly or partially into the EU, we have companies saying their profits are down and of others facing an existential threat, bad news followed by bad news.

Where is the upside?

I mean all that pro=Brexit media with all its resources and even it doesn’t seem able to find any upside.

Hey leavers – have you worked out you go conned yet

 

Yet more evidence of 'Brexit' - isn't it strange all the brexiteers have nothing to say on any of this anymore !!!


Brexit: Over 440 finance firms move jobs out of UK and £900bn flees to EU

Oscar Williams-Grut
16 April 2021, 9:28 amBanks and insurers have moved almost £1tn out of Britain and shifted thousands of jobs to Europe due to Brexit, according to a "sobering" new report on the impact of leaving the EU on Britain's financial services sector.

More than 440 financial services firms have shifted jobs to the EU as a result of Brexit, according to a new report from think tank New Financial, and firms have moved £900bn ($1.2tn) to the EU. The think tank said more jobs and assets were likely to leave Britain in the coming months and years.

The think tank said its report was the most comprehensive measure of the impact of Brexit on the City of London so far.

The study, published on Friday, identified over 440 companies that "have moved or are moving part of their business, staff, assets or legal entities from the UK to the EU." New Financial estimated that around 7,400 staff have been shifted out of London since the 2016 Brexit vote. That is in-line with EY's Brexit tracker, which last month estimated that 7.600 roles had been moved.

 

Yet another victim (or victims) of BREXIT !!!

Nestle planning hundreds of job cuts and closure of UK factory

Alan Jones
28 April 2021, 2:36 pm


Confectionery giant Nestle is planning to cut almost 600 jobs in the UK, close a factory and switch production of some products to Europe, the company announced.

The Swiss-owned firm is proposing the closure of its site in Fawdon, Newcastle upon Tyne, towards the end of 2023, with the loss of around 475 jobs, with a further 98 job cuts in York.

The company said it is proposing changes to adapt its confectionery manufacturing for the future, with a £29.4 million investment at its factories in York and Halifax.

The company said: “Nestle Confectionery has an ambitious business strategy in the UK and these proposals are intended to support our long-term success in an increasingly competitive category.

“The proposed changes would create a more efficient manufacturing footprint and, in turn, allow greater strategic investment in Nestle’s biggest confectionery brands.

“We have chosen to announce these proposals as early as possible to provide the maximum time for consultation with our colleagues and trade unions.”

The GMB union said it is “sickening” that lives are being “ruined in a ruthless pursuit of profits”.

The factory at Fawdon, which first opened in 1958, makes products including Fruit Pastilles, while the York site manufactures KitKats.

Nestle, which employs 8,000 workers in the UK, is proposing to move production of products from Fawdon to other factories in the UK and Europe.

The company said it will make sure those affected are “properly supported” throughout a consultation process.

The proposals include a £20.2 million investment at the York factory to modernise and increase production of KitKat, where the brand was first created in 1935, and a £9.2 million investment at Halifax to take on the largest portion of Fawdon’s production.

A statement said: “The decision to propose Fawdon’s closure follows significant investment and a sustained effort by the factory team to reduce that complexity and introduce new products in recent years.

“The skilled and dedicated team at Fawdon have worked tirelessly to deliver those changes and these proposals are absolutely no reflection on their efforts.

“If these proposals go ahead, we would expect, in future, to be manufacturing a higher volume of products overall while operating a smaller number of factories.

“We do not under-estimate the impact that the closure of the Fawdon factory would have on the local area and, as part of the consultation, we want to work with the local community to find ways that we can support the area and our employees if these proposals were to go ahead.

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“We believe these proposals would strengthen the UK’s position as a critically important hub for Nestle confectionery and home to the expert manufacture of many of our most popular brands including KitKat, Aero and Quality Street.”

GMB national officer Ross Murdoch said: “To ruin hundreds of lives in a ruthless pursuit of profits, to the very workers who’ve kept the company going during a global pandemic, is sickening.

“Nestle is the largest food producer in the world, with astronomical profits. It can afford to treat workers right.

“Instead, they’ve allowed factories to deteriorate, outsourced production overseas and now slash almost 600 jobs.”

 

Negligence or incompetence of the scumbag 'nasty party' ???


Fishing boss hits out at ‘national embarrassment’ of failure to get Norway deal

David Hughes
29 April 2021, 8:37 pmThe owners of a supertrawler have hit out at the collapse of fishing talks with Norway, which has left hundreds of crewmen without work.

The failure to reach a deal means fish and chip shops will be selling Arctic cod imported from Norway rather than landed in Britain, UK Fisheries said.

Its giant vessel Kirkella, which normally catches around 10% of all the fish sold in the UK’s chip shops, is now tied up in Hull without any viable long-term opportunities.

But to provide British fish for chippies, the Kirkella needs access to quotas from the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Norway.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the UK and Norwegian positions were too far apart to reach an agreement this year.

No access or quota exchange agreements have been reached with the Faroes either.

UK Fisheries chief executive Jane Sandell said Environment Secretary George Eustice owed an explanation to the industry.

“This is a very black day for Britain,” she said.

“George Eustice owes our crews and the Humberside region an explanation as to why Defra was unable even to maintain the rights we have had to fish in Norwegian waters for decades, never mind land the boasts of a ‘Brexit bonus’, which has turned to disaster.

“In consequence, there will be no British-caught Arctic cod sold through chippies for our national dish – it will all be imported from the Norwegians, who will continue to sell their fish products to the UK tariff-free while we are excluded from these waters.

“Quite simply, this is a disgrace and a national embarrassment.”

The board of UK Fisheries will now meet to decide what presence it can have in Hull with no viable fishing opportunities in its traditional grounds.

A Defra spokesman said: “We have always been clear that we will only strike agreements if they are balanced and in the interests of the UK fishing industry.

“We put forward a fair offer on access to UK waters and the exchange of fishing quotas, but we have concluded that our positions remain too far apart to reach an agreement this year.

“Norway is a key partner and we will continue to work with them over the course of the year.”

 

Another crap 'Trade Deal' hailed as a triumph by the scumbag 'nasty party' but which merely replaces a much better deal we had until the scumbag nasty party' terminated it in 2012 !!!


Brexit: Labour claims trade deal blunder will freeze freeport firms out of export markets
Special zones are Boris Johnson’s flagship economic recovery policy

Andrew Woodcock
Political Editor
@andywoodcock
9 hours ago
comments

Labour has accused trade secretary Liz Truss of a “catastrophic blunder” which could mean that UK companies which sign up to the government’s flagship freeport programme will be shut out of export markets worth £35bn a year.

Rollover free trade deals signed with 23 countries including Canada, Switzerland, Norway and Singapore feature clauses specifically excluding manufacturers benefiting from freeport tax breaks, said shadow trade secretary Emily Thornberry.

She said this meant companies taking advantage of new freeport zones at East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe & Harwich, Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth & South Devon, Solent, Thames and Teesside will have to pay tariffs at potentially punitive rates on exports to these countries, which together make up almost 10 per cent of the UK’s global export market.

But a government spokesperson denied there had been an error, insisting that companies will be able to choose between benefiting from either the “duty drawback” arrangements available to them in freeport zones or the preferential tariff rates negotiated in the free trade deals.

Boris Johnson has promoted freeports as a key benefit from Brexit, even though the UK was able to operate them as a member of the European Union and did so from the 1980s to 2012, when the Conservative-led government decided not to renew licences.
Manufacturers based in the zones will be allowed to import raw materials and components duty-free before converting them into finished products for export around the world.

The prime minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak believe they will provide a boost to local economies, though some experts believe they will simply relocate economic activity from one area of the country to another and offer companies an opportunity to minimise tax.

The rollover trade deals signed by Ms Truss aim to reduce the economic damage from Brexit by allowing UK companies to continue to enjoy the tariff-free trade available to them while Britain was an EU member.

But trade ministers failed to remove “duty exemption prohibitions” contained in 23 of the agreements. These prohibitions state that any business which has not paid duty on its imports cannot benefit from reduced tariffs on its exports, potentially affecting all manufacturing firms taking advantage of the freeports initiative.

Ms Thornberry pointed out that a warning about the impact of the clauses was included in the small print of a Treasury prospectus issued in November last year inviting bids for freeport status.

But Ms Truss went ahead to sign a further 10 deals including duty exemption prohibitions even after the Treasury warning was issued. Only one deal, with Turkey, included a restriction on the scope of prohibitions which mean they will not apply to the vast majority of UK exports.

Ms Thornberry said: “When I asked Liz Truss recently what she was doing to promote the nation’s new freeports, I was told in response that it was a ‘domestic policy’ and not something her department was focused on, and now I fear that we are seeing the cost of that inattention.

“Last November, when the Treasury invited applications for its new freeports scheme, the small print warned potential bidders of the prohibition clauses contained in several continuity trade agreements the Department of Trade had signed in the previous two years.

“But despite that warning, Liz Truss went on to sign trade agreements with 10 more countries containing the same clauses, including key markets like Canada, Singapore and Mexico.


“It would have taken an hour of discussion and the stroke of a pen to explain the UK’s freeports policy to negotiators from these countries and remove the prohibition clauses from those agreements, and I cannot understand why Liz Truss failed to do that.

“On the surface of it, this looks like a catastrophic blunder by a minister stuck in her silo, and as a result, I fear that manufacturers in towns, cities and regions across our country who have succeeded in bidding for freeport status risk missing out on access to key markets.

“I’ve written to Liz Truss asking her to clarify the situation, and if it needs fixing, I’ve urged her to go back to the negotiating table immediately with these 23 countries and get these clauses removed before Britain’s freeports come into operation later this year.”

A government spokesperson said:“There is no error and it is not uncommon for free trade agreements to have these provisions. Businesses will not be shut out of markets we have negotiated free trade deals with. They will benefit from both our free trade programme, and also from freeports, which provide tax breaks, simpler planning restrictions and cheaper imports.

“Where these provisions apply, businesses can choose to either benefit from the duty drawback, or the preferential rates under the free trade agreement - provided they meet the rules of origin test under that agreement - depending on what suits them best.”

Export partners affected by the prohibition clauses and the value of UK goods exports in 2019, are: Switzerland (£11bn), Canada (£5.7bn), Singapore (£5.5bn), Norway (£4bn), Israel (£1.5bn), Mexico (£1.5bn), Egypt ((£1.4bn), North Macedonia (£1.3bn), Chile (£726m), Morocco (£672m), Ukraine (£552m), Lebanon (£325m), Iceland (£321m), Jordan (£298m), Tunisia (£192m), Serbia (£169m), Georgia (£84m), Faroe Islands (£28m), Moldova (£26m), Liechtenstein (£22m), Albania (£19m), Kosovo (£10m) and Palestine (£2m).

 

As I recall, all the remainer supporters and do called experts were guaranteeing a massive UK recession from the morning that the leave vote won. It was drilled onto the public how bad it would get for us. We were told things such as our food prices would go through the roof, housing market would crash, all the bank headquarters would leave London for Europe, the pound would fall, the UK would have a massive shortage of drugs for patients, we would not get a EU trade deal etc etc etc. The list is endless whT we were told would happen by just voting Brexit.
Once none of the above happened, the Remainers and experts carried on with more total rubbish predictions of an UK deep recession and a total loss of quality of life as we've come accustom to. Every single prediction made never happened. The Remain argument was totally flawed.
What I still do not get is people like you, after all this time of the UK coming out stronger than every single country in the corrupt undemocratic European Union (who tried to bully us to stay for they cannot last without our help), what argument do you even have left to justify a remain verdict???
This Covid Pandemic alone has already give us more than 100% reassurance that we are well off better standing alone.
We are going to have more global trade deals with which we can stamp our own rules onto, not have to obide by EU economic rules that have to be equally beneficial to all 27 states (all 9f whom have totally different economies and different value toward the Euro.
The EU is destined to collapse.

 

Seems Mr Alonso is illiterate, since he hasn't been able to read any of the things that have happened to the uk economy since March last year !!!

 

Well Alonso, is this or is this not a success ???


Labour accuses minister of ‘catastrophic blunder’ over freeports

David Hughes, PA Political Editor
10 May 2021, 9:19 am

Manufacturers based in Boris Johnson’s new freeports will not be able to enjoy the full benefits if they are exporting to a series of countries with which the UK has signed post-Brexit trade deals.

The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have championed freeports – special economic zones offering tax breaks and lower tariffs – as a part of the Government’s “levelling up” agenda to spread economic growth and jobs across the country.

But Labour said a “catastrophic blunder” means manufacturers operating within freeports could face tariffs on their exports to key markets including Switzerland, Canada, Norway and Singapore, despite the UK’s free trade agreements with those countries.

Officials insisted there has not been an error and businesses will not be shut out of markets in countries the UK has negotiated deals with.
The Opposition suggested that exports to 23 countries with which the UK has signed agreements to roll over deals those nations had with the European Union would be affected.

Labour said trade ministers failed to remove wide-ranging “duty exemption prohibitions” contained in 23 of those agreements.

The prohibitions state that any business which has not paid duty on its imports cannot benefit from reduced tariffs on its exports.

A Government spokesman said: “There is no error and it is not uncommon for free trade agreements to have these provisions.

“Businesses will not be shut out of markets we have negotiated free trade deals with.

“They will benefit from both our free trade programme, and also from freeports, which provide tax breaks, simpler planning restrictions and cheaper imports.”

Where the provisions apply, firms will be able to opt for either “duty drawback” – the refund of import duty when goods are re-exported – or from the preferential rates under the free trade agreement, providing they comply with the deal’s rules of origin tests.

Exports of goods to the 23 countries concerned were worth £35.56 billion in 2019, almost 10% of the UK’s total goods exports, Labour said.

Shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry has written to International Trade Secretary Liz Truss to ask her to clarify the situation.

Ms Thornberry said: “Last November, when the Treasury invited applications for its new freeports scheme, the small print warned potential bidders of the prohibition clauses contained in several continuity trade agreements the Department of Trade had signed in the previous two years.

“But, despite that warning, Liz Truss went on to sign trade agreements with 10 more countries containing the same clauses, including key markets like Canada, Singapore and Mexico.

“It would have taken an hour of discussion and the stroke of a pen to explain the UK’s freeports policy to negotiators from these countries and remove the prohibition clauses from those agreements, and I cannot understand why Liz Truss failed to do that.

“On the surface of it, this looks like a catastrophic blunder by a minister stuck in her silo, and, as a result, I fear that manufacturers in towns, cities and regions across our country who have succeeded in bidding for freeport status risk missing out on access to key markets.”

At the Budget in March, the Chancellor announced freeports at East Midlands Airport, in Felixstowe and Harwich, Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth, the Solent, the Thames and Teesside.

He promised “eight new freeports in eight English regions, unlocking billions of pounds of private sector investment, generating trade and jobs up and down the country”.

 

So you think all that's happened to our economy the last year is down to Brexit? Not because of the Covid Pandemic that's rocked the entire World. If we were still part of the EU, we would have been in the EU vaccination program. How could Brussels be so incompetent in their actions to implement an acceptable vaccination program. The UK standing alone have shown the world how we can deal with a crises and look after ourselves. Wait untill all the EU countries needing bailouts over the next 5 years. Their economies are in a far worse state than ours. Our trading deals are a work in progress but we didn't vote Brexit for a better tomorrow or next week. It's the long term benefits. I would have even accepted some of the so called experts predictions short term for a better future but the laughable fact is, these so called experts must have been high on drugs when studying their trades.