Britain and the European Union are once again heading for a standoff over post-Brexit trading rules governed by the Northern Ireland protocol. Here's everything you need to know about how we got here — and what might be coming next.
Agreed as part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement in 2019, the protocol was drawn up to protect the EU’s single market after Britain exited in January 2021.
Both U.K. and EU negotiators agreed that it would be too difficult on economic and security grounds to enforce EU trade rules on the land border between Northern Ireland, part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member.
Instead, the EU’s customs and sanitary controls would be applied on British goods as they arrived at ports in Northern Ireland, which would remain part of the EU’s single market for goods.
The arrangement offered two big advantages: Checks would overwhelmingly be in one direction only, whereas enforcement on the Irish border would have required checks on shipments in both directions; and Northern Ireland producers would gain a unique ability to export barrier-free both to the U.K. and the EU, a potential sales point for inward investment.
So what's not to like?
Read more at:
Here we go again: The latest UK-EU Brexit row unpicked – POLITICO
Showing posts with label Disagreement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disagreement. Show all posts
1/19/22
EU-US relations - disagreement on Ukrain policy: Why Germany refuses weapons deliveries to Ukraine
Germany and its allies are struggling to agree on a response to Russia's unclear intentions. German policymakers, including within the three-party coalition government, are also debating among themselves.
On Tuesday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democrats (SPD), said Russia would pay a "high price" in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, Scholz reiterated that silence on the issue of Ukraine was not an option. His foreign minister, the Greens' Annalena Baerbock, has made similar expressions of solidarity with Ukraine but rejected its latest request for weapons deliveries.
Read more at: Why Germany refuses weapons deliveries to Ukraine | Germany | News and in-depth reporting from Berlin and beyond | DW | 19.01.2022
On Tuesday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democrats (SPD), said Russia would pay a "high price" in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, Scholz reiterated that silence on the issue of Ukraine was not an option. His foreign minister, the Greens' Annalena Baerbock, has made similar expressions of solidarity with Ukraine but rejected its latest request for weapons deliveries.
Read more at: Why Germany refuses weapons deliveries to Ukraine | Germany | News and in-depth reporting from Berlin and beyond | DW | 19.01.2022
4/8/20
5/26/17
Italy: Paris Climate Agreement: Trump still not backing Paris climate agreement says Italy's PM
President Donald Trump still refuses to
back the 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change, blocking efforts
by world leaders meeting in Sicily to get the new U.S. leader to endorse
the treaty, Italy's prime minister said on Friday.
But there was agreement on other issues such as Syria, Libya and fighting terrorism, Paolo Gentiloni told reporters in Taormina, Italy, where the heads of the world's seven major industrialised economies (G7) are meeting.
"There is one open question, which is the U.S. position on the Paris climate accords... All others have confirmed their total agreement on the accord," Gentiloni said. "We are sure that after an internal reflection, the United States will also want to commit to it," he added.
The leaders of Italy, the U.S., Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Japan signed on Friday a statement to bolster efforts to fight terrorism, including a bid to remove extremist propaganda from the Internet, Gentiloni said.
"We showed our united commitment and our determination to
continue and to strengthen our fight against terrorism," Gentiloni said
after the leaders signed a document that also expressed solidarity with
Britain after the suicide bomb attack in Manchester on Monday that
killed 22.
Gentiloni said they had made progress on the issue of foreign trade, but added that the wording of the final communique still needed to be worked out. Trump has previously promoted a protectionist agenda that alarmed his G7 allies.
But there was agreement on other issues such as Syria, Libya and fighting terrorism, Paolo Gentiloni told reporters in Taormina, Italy, where the heads of the world's seven major industrialised economies (G7) are meeting.
"There is one open question, which is the U.S. position on the Paris climate accords... All others have confirmed their total agreement on the accord," Gentiloni said. "We are sure that after an internal reflection, the United States will also want to commit to it," he added.
The leaders of Italy, the U.S., Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Japan signed on Friday a statement to bolster efforts to fight terrorism, including a bid to remove extremist propaganda from the Internet, Gentiloni said.
Gentiloni said they had made progress on the issue of foreign trade, but added that the wording of the final communique still needed to be worked out. Trump has previously promoted a protectionist agenda that alarmed his G7 allies.
Read more: Trump still not backing Paris climate agreement - Italy's PM - World | The Star Online
2/23/16
The EU and TTIP: Secret document reveals EU offer to drop 97 percent of tariffs - Justus von Daniels and Marta Orosz
That was more than the EU expected. European negotiators had to agree a better offer, or risk derailing the deal. A week later, they did came up with a new proposal: reductions in 97 percent of tariff categories.
The EU’s secret offer, which CORRECTIV has seen in its entirety, is made up of 181 pages of densely-printed text and can be found here. It’s got almost 8,000 categories: Every species of fish, every chemical has its own tariff category. Importing a parka? Wool, or polyester?
Trade deals are like poker games. Europe’s big offer comes with a big hope: That the US will open up its public bidding process to European firms. That way, European construction companies could bid on contracts to build US highways, or BMW could sell cop cars to American sheriffs.
For the first time, the tariff offer makes clear what TTIP might do for consumers: remove duties, and prices tend to drop. With tariffs on parts gone, cars could get cheaper. Per part, tariffs add just a few cents on the euro, but altogether European car manufacturers could save a billion Euros each year, according to German Association of the Automotive Industry calculations. Manufacturers could then pass the savings on to consumers.
The EU is now waiting for the US to offer a substantial deal on public procurement. In a September 15 report obtained by CORRECTIV, the European Commission says “it definitely expects that the US will offer to open public procurement at a future point in time, in exchange for the revised tariff offer.”
That report also indicated that the US “promised to make a proposal regarding public procurement for the first time” when the EU and US put forth their symmetrical tariff reductions, eliminating 97 percent of all tariffs.
Public bids are a major TTIP sticking point. The EU wants the US to finally open its markets to allow firms like Balfour Beattie or BMW to compete when cities put out a call for bids on a new building or fleet of cars. The US is less than eager, because that would subject domestic companies – which are already allowed to bid on projects in the EU – to increased competition.
Four days before the next negotiation round starts, the European Commission has now indicated that they don’t expect a comprehensive offer. Sources said that the US haven’t sent their proposal yet and that public procurement will be discussed right after the official negotiation round. The 12th round of negotiations started this Monday in Brussels.
Read more: TTIP: Secret document reveals EU offer to drop 97 percent of tariffs | openDemocracy
6/25/14
EU-US Trade Talks: Thorny Issues Revealed in US-EU Trade Talks
US & EU - US Agriculture Secretary was in the European Union last week, emphasising the importance of agricultural trade in negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP). Stumbling blocks to progress appear to include GM crops, hormones in beef and food processing technology.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Europe last week meeting with agricultural trade officials and stakeholders to expand US agricultural trade and to emphasise the importance of agriculture’s role in the T-TIP currently being negotiated, according to the US National Chicken Council in its Washington Report.
Mr Vilsack met with officials in Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris and Dublin to make the US case on disputed issues in farm trade, as the Obama administration and European Union work on negotiations in T-TIP.
The US Agriculture Secretary stressed the benefits that the trade agreement could have on both the US and EU economies.
However, grounds for disagreement on agricultural issues are numerous including issues regarding genetically modified (GM) crops and food processing techniques.
Meeting with reporters, Mr Vilsack said that if “sound science” shows such products and practices to be safe, European consumers should have the option of purchasing the food that results.
He said: “If we are truly interested in feeding the world, truly interested in doing so with less pesticides and chemicals and truly interested in doing so with more inclement weather and more intense weather patterns because of climate change, we are going to have to adopt science.”
Read more: Thorny Issues Revealed in US-EU Trade Talks - The Pig Site
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Europe last week meeting with agricultural trade officials and stakeholders to expand US agricultural trade and to emphasise the importance of agriculture’s role in the T-TIP currently being negotiated, according to the US National Chicken Council in its Washington Report.
Mr Vilsack met with officials in Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris and Dublin to make the US case on disputed issues in farm trade, as the Obama administration and European Union work on negotiations in T-TIP.
The US Agriculture Secretary stressed the benefits that the trade agreement could have on both the US and EU economies.
However, grounds for disagreement on agricultural issues are numerous including issues regarding genetically modified (GM) crops and food processing techniques.
Meeting with reporters, Mr Vilsack said that if “sound science” shows such products and practices to be safe, European consumers should have the option of purchasing the food that results.
He said: “If we are truly interested in feeding the world, truly interested in doing so with less pesticides and chemicals and truly interested in doing so with more inclement weather and more intense weather patterns because of climate change, we are going to have to adopt science.”
Read more: Thorny Issues Revealed in US-EU Trade Talks - The Pig Site
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