Daily Archives: June 9, 2021

There are serious concerns that new trading barriers thrown up by Brexit could see some UK food manufacturers and their staff relocate to the EU.

The concerns were raised in a recent report by the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Committee which highlighted the impact of strict new trading rules on exporters of fresh seafood and meat to the EU.

But does setting up an EU base offer a solution to food manufactures that are struggling with Brexit red tape and costs? Or do the drawbacks outweigh the potential benefits, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses?

The pros of being in the EU

Theres no doubt that having a physical presence in the EU means far less paperwork to deal with and fewer costs for UK exporters.

There are no customs formalities and declarations in the Eurozone to hamper cross-border trade and you dont have to prove where your goods originate from to enjoy tariff-free trade. That means fewer delays at ports and less risk of food products spoiling in the back of stationary lorries.

Another big benefit of being in Europe is not having to register for VAT in different countries one is usuallyenough and there are no complicated sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks to slow things down.

Being closer to your EU customers also means being able to provide a more efficient service. They dont have to worry about onerous customs procedures if they import from you, or customs duty and import VAT.

The cons moving to the EU

But moving operations to the EU is not a viable solution for every business and the set-up costs associated with relocation are likely to be considerable. Then there are the costs and disruption associated with moving employees out of the UK, or hiring new staff from within Europe.

Relocation also means getting your head around complicated foreign rules and regulations for setting up in the EU. These can differ from country to country which can make things confusing.

If setting up a base in the EU isnt feasible for you, there are other ways to reduce costs when exporting from the UK. Try consolidating goods in one weekly shipment, for example, rather than export items daily to reduce costs and minimise delays.

Its always a good idea to work with well-established freight agents and carriers who know the ropes and can deal with customs procedures efficiently.

Having direct access to millions of EU consumers and businesses, and the promise of hassle-free trade, makes relocation an attractive option. But this shouldnt blind you to the potential drawbacks of setting up operations in Europe.

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Brexit red tape: Should I move my food businesses to the EU? - FoodManufacture.co.uk

GBP/USD eases from the intraday top, up 0.06% on a day around 1.4165, heading into Wednesdays London open. In doing so, the quote rises for the third day in the last four, except the previous days drop, amid broad US dollar weakness. It should, however, be noted that cautious sentiment ahead of todays key Brexit talks over the Northern Ireland (NI) border issues probe the optimists.

US dollar index (DXY) reverses the previous days gains around 90.05, down 0.07% as Treasury yields consolidate recent losses around the monthly low. Also testing the greenback bulls could be the mixed concerns over China and US President Joe Bidens infrastructure spending. Worries over the Feds next move and Thursdays key US CPI, not to forget the ECB, also favor USD sellers amid a sluggish session.

On the other hand, the lowest covid-led death toll in England and Wales help UK PM Boris Johnson to stay firm on his June 21 deadline for unlock even as the market chatters back a fortnight extension. Further, strong comments from Bank of Englands (BOE) Chief Economist Andy Haldane, relating to the housing market, firm up the calls of tapering and back the GBP/USD bulls in turn.

However, Brexit deadlock over the NI protocol and a less likely solution during todays meeting between the European Union (EU) Maro efovi, European Commission Vice Presidentand UKs David Frost probe the sterling buyers.

As per the latest updates from the BBC, The UK's Brexit minister Lord Frost has urged the EU to show common sense during talks over post-Brexit rules in Northern Ireland. On the same line, Reuters said, EU President Ursula von der Leyenhas expressed her deep concern on the implementation of post Brexit arrangements in a phone call toBoris Johnson.

On Tuesday, EUs efovi warned the UK while saying, per Reuters, Brussels will start a trade war with Britain if Boris Johnson overrides the Brexit treaty so that Northern Irish shops can keep selling British sausages.

Given the contrasting outlook of the ex-neighbors, todays Brexit talks are likely not to overcome the deadlock on the key issues, which in turn may weigh on the GBP/USD prices going forward. Its worth mentioning that US President Joe Biden is up for meddling into the key Brexit subject resolution, which in turn gives another reason for todays negotiations to fall.

Although an ascending trend line from April 12, near 1.4110 defends GBP/USD bulls, 1.4210 guards the quotes short-term upside. Its worth noting that 1.4190 and 21-day SMA near 1.4145 act as extra filters amid a likely sideways grind.

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GBP/USD edges higher towards 1.4200, crunch Brexit talks before G7 eyed - FXStreet

Like Homer Simpson shuffling surreptitiously backwards into a hedge, some would have us believe that Brexit is gradually fading into the background. Not, its true, for the businesses dealing with the fallout, or for the people of Northern Ireland. But Covid has shifted the dial politically. Governments are currently defined by their response to the pandemic here, across the EU and elsewhere.

This is not, perhaps, the most promising backdrop to the launch of the diaries from the EUs chief negotiator Michel Barnier, covering the four long years that he spent grinding away at the problem. But La grande illusion: Journal secret du Brexit (2016-2020) was published by Gallimard in French in May, with an English translation due in the autumn. So who and what is this book for?

Historians, I guess, in the years to come. They will find the key steps of the process set

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Michel Barnier's diaries show how he overachieved on Brexit - Prospect Magazine

The editorial headline (May 31) can be construed in two ways one is DUP voted for Brexit and not for Dublin or DUP voted for Brexit, Dublin did not. I presume your interpretation is the latter. Both are factually correct. Your narrative of events is in parts correct but there is no evidence that the 450,000 donation towards the Metro advertisement in any way affected the size of the pro-Brexit vote. Metro is a free newspaper principally circulating in the London area, which returned a remain vote. To argue that the advertisement may well have influenced the final result.... is highly unlikely. If every reader of the newspaper (1.25 million) had suddenly switched to leave that wouldnt have altered the final figure of a 1.3 million leave majority to change the result. If you consider the distribution map of Metro in relation to the distribution map of Remainers there is huge overlap. In other words, Metro is mainly read by Remainers.

You argue that the DUP voted against the proposal (Mrs Mays backstop). In fact, the DUPs 10 votes were never going to change the result of the five votes against the government between January 15 2019 and October 11 2019 voting varied from 45 against to 230 against. The DUP never had any influence on the result of the negotiations. The idea that they could have obtained a soft Brexit based on Mrs Mays backstop by voting differently is no more than nationalist fantasy.

Your reference to a broad nationalist consensus over the risks associated with a hard Irish border is simply a threat of nationalist violence put forward by Bertie Ahern, Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar, among others, and again does not bear close examination.

The word hard as applied to the border is inappropriate. It refers to the days when the border had to be protected militarily against attacks mounted from the Republics side and the very real instances of terrorists using it as a safe haven. Those days have long gone and have nothing to do with Brexit.

De-militarisation followed the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement over 20 years ago. There has not been a hard border since then.

There are no known instances of republicans attacking Irish customs posts. All the attacks were against the British customs posts.

The only customs post needed would be EU ones on the southern side of the border as a protection of their Single Market.

Given the Irish peoples unconditional love affair with Europe and the EU, how likely is it that Irishmen would attack other Irishmen whose job was to operate checks designed solely to protect the EU Single Market? Even more so, how likely is it that they would receive any support from Irish people?

It is worth making the point that the DUP has achieved something no other party in Northern Ireland, southern Ireland, UK, US or western Europe has done they have shared power for many years with a political party which supported the use of violence for political ends.

MIKE MAYBINBelfast BT10

Another wasted opportunity

The just published Fair Start report on educational underachievement is yet another wasted opportunity to tackle our failing education system where in 2019 56.5 per cent of Protestant pupils and 46.8 per cent of Catholic pupils on free school meals failed to gain five good GCSE A* C including English and maths and 30 per cent of our adults have either very basic or no formal qualifications. We also have the lowest proportion of adults in the UK with higher education or degree level qualifications. But how could it be any different when education minister Peter Weir excluded academic selection from the terms of reference of the reporting panel. It reminds me of the Fawlty Towers sketch where Basil is expecting German guests and the mantra to all staff is dont mention the war.

The minister described the report as one of the most important reports I have overseen and yet not one of their eight key proposals makes reference to the huge impact that a socially integrated education system can make to the life chances of all children and more particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds. We have known now for more than 60 years since the Coleman Report (Equality of Educational Opportunity) that who you go to school with matters a lot, almost as much as your family background. Being born poor imposes a disadvantage but attending a school with large number of low income classmates presents a second independent challenge.

As Mark Langhammer of the Natioal Education Union has pointed out, the report misses the elephant in the room. Northern Irelands education system isnt just the most socially segregated in the UK, it is the most socially segregated education system in the developed world, and its this social apartheid in the post-primary sector where more advantaged children go to one type of school and those less advantaged go to another that has led to the high concentrations of poverty in too many of our secondary schools and the long tail of underachievement that is the end result. These are not just cold statistics, they are stories of wasted lives and children never being able to fulfill their real potential just because they are unlucky enough to be born into poverty and disadvantage.

When Peter Weir first became education minister in 2016 he couldnt understand why our primary school pupils were doing so well in international tests and our post-primary students were no better than mediocre. The then president of the Ulster Teachers Union, Avril Hall Callaghan, had this to say: There is no mystery. The main thing that separates children in primary and secondary education here is academic selection. Therein lies the solution to the ministers conundrum. It is a scandal that this legislature insists for the most disingenuous of reasons to continue with the apalling apartheid of academic selection.

JIM CURRANDownpatrick, Co Down

Pluralism is possible

June 4 marked the 32nd anniversary of the deaths of hundreds of pro-democracy students in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The decision on military intervention was taken by the Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, it is said, by majority vote, approved by a margin of just one member.

As happens so often in politics, the leaders choose the question, a vote is held and on most occasions, the question is the answer. Thus it was with Napoleon in his three referendums; Hitler had four such plebiscites; David Camerons third was the Brexit referendum, while Boris Johnson had his get Brexit done majority vote in the Commons. Such top-down politics often has little to do with the will of the people or the will of parliament, more with the will of the ruler.

Its time we reformed the 2,500-year-old binary vote. After all, when choosing our representatives, we would not want a North Korean type of election, Candidate X, yes-or-no? Both in parliaments and in referendums, however, decision-making is binary: Option X, yes-or-no? or at best, Option X or option Y? But just as multi-candidate elections are possible under a range of voting procedures, so too decisions can be taken in multi-option and even preferential ballots.

PETER EMERSONDirector, de Borda Institute, Belfast BT14

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The DUP never had any influence on the result of the Brexit negotiations - The Irish News

Problems are mounting for thousands of Britons in Spain and the rest of Europe who chose not to apply for residency after Brexit

It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain and also in the parts of Europe where UK ex-pats (because people are only called migrants when they dont look like us) have settled and are nowfacing huge headaches.

The pain to the brain is mainly felt in Spain, home to 285,000 of the 485,000 Brits in the EU. Those who have failed to register their residency must now pay an extra 5% income tax - 24% to 19% - compared to EU nationals and have been told they must obey the 90 in 180 rule. That means, like ordinary tourists, they can only stay in the country for 90 days within every 180-day period.

Ex-pats who stay under the radar and chance it face potential deportation or a ban from the country should they outstay their welcome, said tax lawyer Leon Fernando Del Canto. There is zero leeway.

Reports also continue of Britons who thought they were safe - like Jay Elliott, 66, and Lily Higgins, 71, who hadbeen in the country for five years apiece - being accused of faulty paperwork and warned that in the event of an unsuccessful appeal, they will have to pack up and leave for good.

Brits in the Canary Islands have been turned away from vaccine centres - incorrectly, say the Spanish government - for not having a public health card, with John McKenzie, 42, who has diabetes and a heart condition, claiming to have been denied a jab four times in his local health centre in El Sauzal, Tenerife.

Elsewhere in Europe, over 100,000 ex-pats face becoming undocumented migrants on July 1 after failing to apply for settled status in the 13 EU countries that did not grant automatic residency to British citizens who were already living there when the UK waved its two-fingered goodbye to the bloc. Some 25,000 are thought to be in France, but the list also includes Belgium, Denmark, Malta and the Netherlands.

Those who dont manage to complete the application process in time are likely to lose access to services including healthcare, a devastating prospect since many of them are in the later stages of life.

Of course, those 100,000 might just be tempted to come home temporarily for surgery, or just return to Britain for good. Some 8,000 have already done that in the last year.

Now, what was that about Brexit stopping health tourism and mass migration to the UK?

What do you think? Have your say on this and more by emailing letters@theneweuropean.co.uk

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Brexit: British 'expats' in Spain facing deportation over residency - The New European

An extensive checklist of issues to deal with post-Brexit means a potentially very big expense bill for those clients looking to retire to an EU country, effectively making such a move "the preserve of the rich" according to international advisory firm Blevins Franks.

Delays in the systems and securing the right documentation may mean having to apply multiple times, while further costs mount up if the documents have to be translated and an immigration specialist is employed.

Clients also have to demonstrate that they have sufficient income to support their family without being a burden on the state. In Spain, for example, they must prove a minimum annual income of 27,115 plus 6,778 for each additional family member.

One of the EU Golden Visa applications if not done properly could cost 40,000 in lost fees."

Jason Porter, director of Blevins Franks and head of the company's European Emigration Advisory Service, said: "All of this means that this is the preserve of the above-average wealthy.

"Get the residency application wrong and in most cases it is void and the application fee is lost. Not only will they have to start the process again from scratch, but they will have to come up with more cash for a new application."

He added: "Golden Visas allow Britons to gain residency rights in many EU countries in exchange for investing a substantial sum in local property or investing some other way in the economy.

"They certainly would not want to try to obtain a Golden Visa on their own as they average 5,000-6,000 each and an application that has to be resubmitted would cost 500 every time.

"One of the EU Golden Visa applications if not done properly could cost 40,000 in lost fees," said Porter.

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Retiring to the EU post-Brexit could cost 40,000 in lost fees - International Investment

Liz Truss outlines planned trade deal with India

Francois Asselineau, the founder of the anti-EU party Popular Republican Union, took to social media after deals valued at a total of 21.6billion were unveiled, with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein on Friday. Norways Prime Minister Erna Solberg gave an insight into the magnitude of the agreement, describing it as "the largest free trade deal we have ever concluded.

Mr Asselineau, who advocates his countrys withdrawal from the EU and the eurozone, subsequently tweeted: Far from isolating itself from the rest of the world, post-Brexit UK quickly finds its place.

It has already signed trade agreements with the EU, Singapore and Japan.

It just signed a free trade agreement with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

It is in negotiations with Australia, the US, India, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico.

He added: Looking forward to the arrival of the Apocalypse the Europeanists predicted for the English after Brexit, but nothing has arrived yet. #Frexit.

Hailing the agreement, Mrs Solberg nevertheless admitted: A free trade agreement will not be as satisfactory as the EEA agreement.

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"A free trade agreement means more bureaucracy and increased costs for businesses and citizens, and it is less dynamic than what we have within the EEA.

"The agreement does not remove all barriers to trade either. Some are not resolved.

Icelandic Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, welcomed "a historic agreement which marks a turning point in relations between both countries."

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He added: The UK is one of Iceland's most important export markets and, due to the close ties between the two countries, it was considered extremely important to conclude a future deal with the UK at this stage.

The deal is the first time the three European countries have included dedicated chapters on digital trade and small businesses in any trade deal, making it the most advanced they have done to date.

It significantly cuts tariffs as high as 277 percent for exporters to Norway of West Country Farmhouse Cheddar, Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar, Traditional Welsh Caerphilly, and Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese.

There are also tariff reductions and quotas on pork, poultry and other goods. UK wines and spirits including Scotch Whisky will also now be recognised in Norway and Iceland.

Reduced import tariffs on shrimps, prawns and haddock will reduce costs for UK fish processing, helping support some 18,000 jobs in that industry in Scotland, East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire.

Speaking on Friday, Mrs Truss said: Todays deal will be a major boost for our trade with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, growing an economic relationship already worth 21.6 billion, while supporting jobs and prosperity in all four nations at home.

International Trade Minister, Ranil Jayawardena added: This deal shows that the United Kingdom will continue to be a trade partner of choice, as we set the global trade agenda in areas like e-commerce and climate change.

More trade and more investment will drive growth and support jobs in every corner of our country.

The agreement also allows high-skilled professionals to enter Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein for business purposes, means faster and simpler visa processes and includes professional qualification recognition so nurses, lawyers, vets and other professionals will have a clear route to apply to have their qualification recognised to work in the partner countries.

(Additional reporting by Maria Ortega)

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What happened to the Apocalypse? French campaigner eyes Brexit Britains success - Daily Express

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will tell the European Union on Wednesday time is running out to find solutions to ease post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland, saying any further legal action by the bloc would not "make life any easier" for people in the province.

Since completing its exit from the EU late last year, Britain's relations with it have soured, with both sides accusing each other of acting in bad faith over part of their trade deal that covers goods movements to Northern Ireland.

British Brexit minister David Frost will meet European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic in London to try to resolve the differences over the Northern Ireland protocol, but so far months of talks have done little to break the deadlock.

Brussels accuses London of breaking the agreement by failing to implement checks on some goods moving from Britain to its province of Northern Ireland, and has started legal action over the British government's unilateral extension of a grace period.

London says it has no choice because some of the checks hamper supplies to Northern Irish supermarkets. It points to rising tensions among pro-British unionists in the province.

"When I meet Maros Sefcovic later today my message will be clear: time is short and practical solutions are needed now to make the protocol work," Frost said in a statement, calling for flexibility to find solutions "that enjoy the confidence of all communities".

"Further threats of legal action and trade retaliation from the EU won't make life any easier for the shopper in Strabane who can't buy their favourite product."

His words were a response to an article Sefcovic wrote in the Telegraph newspaper on Tuesday when he warned Britain the EU would "not be shy in reacting swiftly, firmly and resolutely" if it considered Britain was breaching its legal obligations.

London and Brussels say want to find solutions but accuse each other of not engaging with various competing proposals.

The grace period on some goods expires on June 30, and a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday, there was "no case whatsoever for preventing chilled meat from being sold in Northern Ireland".

"What is needed is pragmatism and common sense solutions to resolve the issues as they are before us," Frost said. "This work is important. And it is ever more urgent."

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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UK urges EU to move on post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland | Saltwire - SaltWire Network

While speaking in the House of Commons, former prime minister Theresa May criticised the move to cut foreign aid from 0.7 to 0.5 percent. She argued that it would damage the international reputation of Brexit Britain. She added the UK was able to have a louder voice due to its international aid commitments.

Ms May said: "I oppose this cut because of the impact on the UK's standing in the world.

"People have respected us for our commitment to 0.7 percent.

"Now, as we have heard, we are the only country in the G7 that is cutting aid at this time.

"People don't listen to the UK because we are the UK.

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"They listen to us because of what we do and how we put our values into practice.

"Our commitment to that 0.7 percent has enabled us to argue the case for different definitions of ODA spending.

"So cutting this will have an impact on our standing."

Despite Mrs May's claims, she admitted countries were not about to stop trading with the UK.

One Twitter user wrote: "She's irrelevant, much like her time in office."

Another added: "Theresa May hasn't got a clue.

"She was on the wrong side of Brexit, thanks to her we had to negotiate from a weakened hand.

Another wrote: "Sadly, she's really out of touch at this point of this enormous puppet theatre performance."

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Theresa May hit with backlash as ex-PM casts doubt on Brexit Britain's global standing - Daily Express

Deputy President of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Mark Tufnell clarified he and his members were not anti-trade but are simply concerned over the quality of Australianmeat flooding the UK market. He explained to Express.co.uk the UK follows some of the most stringent farming controls in the world and was worried a zero-tariff deal may send the wrong message it may be for nothing. Mr Tufnell added he hoped British and Australian meat will be clearly labelled so the consumer can make an informed decision.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Tufnell was asked how he would respond to arguments farmers like himself were against post-Brexit deals.

He said: "The members of our association, our line, is that we are actually very pro-trade and we're not preventing a deal.

"But, that is a big but, we feel that any form of import that enters this country should meet the high animal welfare and high standards that we have.

"And I don't think that is an unfair stance to take."

Mr Tufnell was then asked to expand on his position and to explain what he would like to see as part of the deal.

He told Express.co.uk: "If you look at places like Australia, they have a low cost of production and they have the ability to send a similar product to the UK.

"When I say a similar product, I mean beef, and I don't think the consumer would necessarily understand the difference between the two.

"Particularly if the beef has been minced and forms parts of ready meals.

China is one of Australia's biggest markets but has seen tariffs of up to 220 percent slapped on its wine.

In 2019, the Australian wine industry was valued at 1.5billion.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is expected to announce the signing of the Australian trade deal soon as the frontbencher has indicated a desire to sign one before the start of the G7 this weekend.

Some farmers have been vocal in their opposition to the move as they fear they could be competing with Australian beef and feel they have been ignored by the Government.

National Farmers Union president Minette Batters said without the right checks and balances to protect British farmers she predicts there will be a "complete slow-motion car crash in the countryside."

But Ms Batters, alongside Mr Tufnell, has been given assurances from Ms Truss that they will protect British farmers during several consultations in May.

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Were not preventing a deal! Farmers union hits out against anti-Brexit criticisms - Daily Express