Category Archives: Brexit

Frozen food shop Iceland has paused further expansion in the Republic as the business embeds changes brought about by Brexit, according to its latest financial report.

The UK retailer operates 27 shops here. New accounts show that the businessbenefited from a return to home cooking duringthe Covid-19lockdownsas revenues increased by 9 per cent to 66 million.

According to the accounts, filed by Iceland Stores Ireland Ltd for the 12 months to the end of March 26th this year, thecompany reduced itspretax losses by 27 per cent from 4.47 million to 3.25 million.

Under the heading of future developments,thereport said the company was looking to embed the changes required post-Brexitover thecoming year before expanding the business further.

The accounts note that the year was a challenging one for thecompany, with meetingthe challenges oftheCovid-19 pandemicandseizing the opportunities created by the changes in consumerlifestyle and purchasing behaviour. Growth in the grocery market was driven byheightenedconsumer demand for home cooking rather than food to go or eating out. Thisstructuralshift reflected the increase in home cooking and reduced commuting,together with the loss of out of home eatingopportunities for much of theyear due to the series ofCovid-19 nationallockdownsand tiered restrictions, the accounts said.

Underscoring the positive impact on sales brought about by theCovid-19 pandemic, the report said that Icelands supply chaindealtsuccessfully with the challenge posed byCovid-19during a surge in demandunprecedented outside the well-planned Christmas peak.

Theaccounts also said that it incurredsubstantialCovid-related costs and the businesss exceptional cost of sales last year totalled 455,000.

The companysadjusted earningsbefore interest, tax,depreciation andamortisation(ebitda) last year totalled 922,000 compared to a deficit of 1.2 million inthe prior year , a positive swing of 2.1 million. Numbers employed remained at 438 as staff costs increased from 7.63 million to 7.84 million. Non-cash depreciation costs totalled 3.72 million.

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Iceland freezes expansion due to Brexit impact - The Irish Times

Having dropped the most since June, GBP/USD remains on the back foot around 1.3630, battling the key technical support, during Fridays Asian session. In doing so, the cable pair justifies the recently easy consumer confidence figures while also bearish the burden of the Brexit and coronavirus jitters.

The GfK Consumer Confidence for August matched the -8 forecast versus -7 prior. British consumer morale cooled a little after touching its highest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Reuters after the release.

Elsewhere, Brexit is blamed for the chicken woes in the UK and the drain of bankers from Britain to the European Union (EU). The Financial Times (FT) said, UK chicken producers say post-Brexit immigration restrictions are to blame for staff shortages that have forced them to reduce supply, causing restaurants including KFC and Nandos to cut menu items and close branches. On the other hand, Reuters said, Nearly a hundred highly paid bankers left Britain ahead of its departure from the European Union, the bloc's banking watchdog said on Wednesday, the latest confirmation of how Brexit has reshaped Europe's financial sector and its tax base.

Talking about the coronavirus woes, the UK reported 36,572 new cases and 113 covid-led deaths on Thursday. The British policymakers are concerned about the Delta covid variant break and push hard for booster shots, not to forget vaccines for 12-17 years old. Another reason for the same could be the British research showing that the current vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca are less effective to tame the virus strain.

On a broader from Australia reported the record daily jump in infections while New Zealands virus cases sneak into Wellington of late. Furthermore, cases in China and the US ease a bit but remain at worrisome levels.

The virus jitters and Brexit fears put a safe-haven bid under the US dollar, fueling the US Dollar Index (DXY) near the yearly top. Also favoring the greenback is the tapering tantrum.

Hence, the GBP/USD prices may remain on the bearish trajectory unless any positive developments rollout from either the UK or the US that enriches market sentiment, which is less likely.

Looking forward, a lack of major data/events may offer a little impetus and keep the risk catalysts on the drivers seat. However, UK Retail Sales for July, expected to ease from 9.7% to 6.0% YoY, will be important to watch.

GBP/USD bears attack the yearly support line near 1.3630 but clear trading below 200-DMA, around 1.3795, keeps the sellers hopeful to refresh 2021 low under 1.3572.

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GBP/USD renews monthly bottom above 1.3600 on Brexit, covid woes ahead of UK Retail Sales - FXStreet

The Protocol, part of the Brexit divorce deal agreed by the UK and Brussels, effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods.This means checks on goods being sent from Great Britain into the single market in some cases could result in prohibitions on certain products that do not comply with EU rules.

Following unionist anger over the Protocol at Stormont, Brexit minister Lord Frost put forward plans to renegotiate the Protocol, which he set out in a Command Paper last month.

Negotiations are currently ongoing with the EU to find a solution.

But this publication has learnt UK ministers are considering another extension as the September 30 deadline to the current extension runs out, sparking a potential "sausage war".

After October 1, if the EU does not agree to a further grace period, then shipments of chilled meats including sausages into Northern Ireland from elsewhere in the United Kingdom will be restricted.

The UK initially asked for a 12-week extension to the grace period on animal products which includes chilled meats such as sausages, burgers and mince in June, which was granted by the European Commission.

A Whitehall source familiar with the ongoing negotiations over the protocol said the option for another extension wasnt ruled out.

The source added to Express.co.uk: We are aware of the upcoming deadline so are looking at various options.

We have made clear the Northern Ireland Protocol is not working in its current form and are working in partnership with the European Commission to hopefully make changes that remain consistent with the Good Friday Agreement.

READ MORE:Alba pledges legal action to force IndyRef2

But the European Commission, who have remained silent on Lord Frosts plans to renegotiate the Protocol, are understood to have some concerns about a potential extension.

A Brussels source added: We are having constructive discussions with the UK.

Read more here:

It's NOT working! Fresh Brexit battle looms as Frost set to ignite new row over hated deal - Daily Express

As the clocks turned 2020 into 2021 the UK left the European Union after 47 years. The decision divided the country, and businesses were forced to adapt to - and comply with new regulations. Certain industries were clearly more affected than others, and businesses which had some sort ofinternationalpresence benefited from a smoother transitioning period.

Players in the payments industry were perhaps one of those lucky ones, due to the nature ofinternationalcapabilities inherent in the sector and its continued ability to stay agile.

A key consideration and a massive point of debate was whether London would remain the centre of the financial services sector, and if not, what would the repercussions be for businesses.

For the payments sector, while the UKs Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has instituted a Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) enabling registered European payments firms to continue operating in the UK without relicensing through 2024, the European Central Bank (ECB) has been more robust, spreading a sense of uncertainty across the board.

It wasnt just new regulations which threw many businesses, but the issue of successfully managing and retaining aninternationalworkforce. As companies were forced to adapt, the financial industry saw the underdogs leading the charge, as smaller firms proved to be more agile and resilient to the ever changingBrexitlandscape.

Friend or foe?Brexitand the payments industry

BeforeBrexit, the payments sector was seamless, cross-border and collaborative. Like many industries, it was easy to access multiple markets as trading wasnt so limited. In the past seven months, the imposed regulatory changes have made everything more challenging and forced the industry to focus on digitalising its offering and cementing itsinternationalcapabilities in order to stay competitive and futureproof itself.

But the initial stages were far from easy, and in the early months ofBrexit, many industry players reported of IBAN discrimination being a major issue as a number of companies across Europe began to refuse Euro account bank details if they contained the country code GB.

As a result ofBrexit, sending a payment to Eurozone countries resulted in additional charges. Whilst the fee is nominal, it means that payments can be short of the required full amount being sent. This new imposed fee has caused an unnecessary amount of disruption and operations teams have been tasked with managing flows into different accounts to mitigate unforeseen costs arising.

Starting Global, Thriving Global

In a bid to mitigate the impact ofBrexitand futureproof our growth, we knew early on that ourinternationalcapabilities would help us navigate this challenging time. As a bespoke payments and FX technology platform, we were programmed to integrate seamlessly with global data fields across multiple banking partners. We also know which global industries benefit from our digital cash management system and how we can take that into new markets - so really the missing piece is local permissions to enter new jurisdictions. It was therefore a no-brainer for us to really focus on bringing our pre-establishedinternationaloperations to the forefront and help the teams mitigate any disruption.

Brexithas not changed the need for cross border payments, rather only the operational functionality and regulatory requirements. Having established experts in multiple fields reduces the time spent by management members imposing new legislations and regulations - many of which are interpreted at each local regulators absolute discretion.

Tips to help your business guarantee the bestinternationalmove post-Brexit:

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Starting Global: Why international business presence is the key to post Brexit success - Finextra

Brexit-backing newspaper the Express has sent a plea to Lord Frost and Ursula von der Leyen to reopen the Brexit deal after it was revealed UK exporters are getting caught up in a litany of red tape.

Businesses in the UK could face up to 270 million new checks following the countrys departure from the European Union, leading many to reconsider how sustainable exporting to the continent could be.

The British Chambers of Commerce warned of a gathering storm in the UK export market which threatened to derail the long-term ambitions for a truly global Britain.

Shevaun Haviland, director-general of the business group, urged Brexit minister Lord Frost and the EUs vice president Maros Sefcovic to look at the issue personally.

She added: Small and medium-sized exporters have found themselves consumed in an avalanche of red tape and blockaded by disruption, to the degree that many have simply been forced to cease selling to EU-based customers altogether.

That is why we are calling on senior Ministers in the UK Government, as well as EU officials, to step in and urgently examine the issues that are currently plaguing SME [small and medium-sized] exporters.

Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, added: We urgently need to see policymakers on both sides of the Channel assessing ways to ease the admin burden for small exporters, which are often among our most innovative and profitable firms.

Exporters started experiencing problems in January with Scottish fishermen first experiencing delays in getting their fresh fish to the markets of mainland Europe, the Express reported.

These fears were reflected in The British Chambers Trade Confidence Outlook for Q1 of 2021.

The percentage of businesses reporting increased export sales fell to 20 per cent, down from 22 per cent in Q4 2020.

The new post-Brexit regulations, which were approved by the UK Government, will mean companies importing goods into the UK will require Export Health Certificates (EHC) and various additional consignment paperwork.

HMRC data reveals 270 million additional customs declarations are expected to be filled out as a result of the additional checks.

Related: Flashback: To when foreign secretaries DID resign over diplomatic failures

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Express pleas with Lord Frost to reopen Brexit deal due to complex red tape - The London Economic

I

F youd been asleep for the last two years and were suddenly awakened in the City of London, you could be forgiven for thinking it had suffered an apocalypse.

Cornhill is empty. On the steps of the Royal Exchange building sit only pigeons. Lombard, normally jammed with cabs full of bankers, hosts the odd bicyclist.

Blimey, you might think, all those predictions about what Brexit would do to our financial centre were right.

In reality, almost no one has left, at least no one we care about. They are just at home, for now, poised to resume business as normal. (Deal making, money raising has continued with impressive normality anyway).

The Times today reports figures from the European Banking Authority which puts the number of top bankers that have left London at 95. Not 95,000. Not even 9500.

95. Perhaps we should ring them up individually and ask if they are ready to come home yet.

London still has most of the big hitters and remains Europes biggest financial centre by some way.

The folk predicting the City of Londons demise post Brexit a curious alliance of centrist remainers, The Guardian, and other people who dont know what they are talking about look embarrassingly wrong.

Here is a flashback to The Groan in December 2017:

City firms plan to move 10,500 jobs out of the UK on day one ofBrexit, with Dublin and Frankfurt the financial centres most likely to benefit from the UKs departure from the EU.

The paper was quoting accountants at EY that 10,500 already being a reduction on previous guesses of 12,500.

Some estimates were far more serious than that.

Of course, some jobs have moved. But they always do it is a dynamic world, and for some basic functions involving share administration or fund allocation, it has been cheaper and as easy to do that from Dublin or Frankfurt for ages.

City old timer David Buik of Aquis Exchange says: Predictions that post Brexit, 100k banking personnel would leave for the EU was wholesale exaggeration. 75 years of infrastructure with the best lawyers and accountants plus the English language endorses the belief that London will remain at the pinnacle of financial society.

The idea that there would be a mass exodus by bankers was always insanity. Yes, Euro based trading was always likely to be repatriated, and so it was in a heartbeat. For foreign exchange, the finance of foreign trade, M&A activity and derivatives, apart from New York, there is only one financial metropolis - London. The centre of the time zone, the English language, deal making prowess and 75 years of infrastructure makes London an irresistible centre.

Back in February there was a kerfuffle when Amsterdam, temporarily, surpassed London as the biggest share trading hub in Europe.

This was symbolic only, it meant little for jobs or taxes, and the stock market is just a fraction of what the City is about anyway.

When London regained its status from Amsterdam shortly thereafter, the embarrassingly wrong crowd somehow failed to notice.

Russ Mould at AJ Bell says: Perhaps COVID has wrecked more than a few plans to move staff around, but so far the doom-laden predictions are not coming true. Firms are focusing on keeping the talent they have, and threatening to shunt them around Europe might not be a good way of doing that. People can have good reasons for wanting to stay where they are, such as children and their education, as well as their own professional and social networks, let alone the prospect of different (higher) tax regimes.

The truth is that London is just better at this stuff than almost anywhere else. Moreover, Amsterdam and the rest know it.

Think of them as Margate, annually making a claim to get our holiday pounds over the charms of Majorca. They dont actually expect us all to show up.

And they couldnt cope if we did.

Here is the other thing about the City and London in general, as compared to say Frankfurt, a village of a town that has a nice book fair but may otherwise lack for the excitement your hard swinging financier regards as his due.

You dont have to like the people who work in the City to see that what they do is vital to the UKs prospects.

And in any case, they represent a far broader cross section of the human race than might be supposed from the outside. Most of life is here.

The City has had a good crisis. And it is just about to get even better. Watch.

More:

Apocalypse? No. The City of London has defied talk of a Brexit exodus - Evening Standard

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It is a stock phrase of Boris Johnsons government that it seeks to deliver on the opportunities of Brexit. Indeed, barely a press release or a government statement passes without this appearing somewhere or other.

But five years after the UK voted to leave the EU, those opportunities remain stubbornly ill-defined, beyond a broad commitment to notions of lighter-touch, nimble regulation in key areas of UK economic life, such as global finance and the life sciences.

The obvious difficulty with the UK exercising its new regulatory sovereignty to create its own rules however nimble is that from the perspective of global industries such as pharmaceuticals and medical device makers, the UK amounts to only a few per cent of the total global marketplace.

This is why industry has raised concerns, as noted in a previous edition of Brexit Briefing, over the implementation of the new UKCA quality assurance mark that essentially duplicates the EUs existing CE mark regime, adding UK-specific cost and complexity for no obvious gain.

This is particularly true for fields such as medical devices, which have to be sold globally to be commercially viable, and why UK industry and experts recently warned over risks of divergence for divergence sake.

The risks of failure in the regulatory sphere are political as well as commercial. If the UK, which represents just 4 per cent of the global market in medical devices, gets the future regulatory environment wrong, it will mean fewer products being available to NHS patients because industry licenses them first for the bigger participants, notably the EU and the US.

But while there can be no ignoring the limiting factor of size, regulatory experts argue that there is potential for the UK to seize a significant Brexit dividend by regulating better, and indeed could become a truly world-beating force in what is called regulatory science.

The opportunity is not so much cutting regulation slashing Brussels red tape in the popular Brexit narrative but in fundamentally changing the way in which the UK approaches and manages regulation.

The governments TIGRR report on post-Brexit regulatory reform led by arch-Brexiter Sir Iain Duncan Smith alluded to this, but was still fundamentally based on the notion that regulators and their regulations are obstructive rather than enabling in nature.

Yet the Covid-19 pandemic has actually been a public showcase for strong and clever regulators, making sure that useless or dangerous ventilators and PPE did not enter hospital wards; fast-tracking coronavirus vaccines and keeping unreliable Covid tests from the market.

The real opportunity of Brexit, therefore, says Professor Christopher Hodges, a global regulatory expert at the University of Oxford, is to fundamentally change the thinking behind the way the UK regulates, releasing potential in the process.

The step-change, he argues, must be away from a rules and sanctions-based approach typified in the EUs unwieldy new Medical Devices Directive, which is causing massive bureaucratic headaches in the industry, forcing businesses to take products off the market to a more trust-based approach that is built around all participants in the process working towards common goals.

Hodges cites the airline industry as an example of where the common endeavour of keeping planes safely in the air achieves the shared outcome that both operators, regulators and indeed passengers are looking for. From the air traffic controller, to the worker out on the tarmac shutting the planes luggage compartment, it is the common endeavour, not fines and sanctions, that ultimately achieves safety.

The TIGRR report missed a big trick, says Hodges. The EU has a structural problem because it needs to harmonise rules across 27 countries. But if the UK modernises its whole approach based on ethics, trust, evidence, problem-solving and putting an ethical code at [the] centre rather than a load of rules, then it can do extraordinarily well.

These ideas that now underpin new regulatory science and which are already featured in a lot of new corporate thinking on incentivising productivity and performance might seem abstract, but the ultimate aim is to make a difference on the ground for UK plc.

In the medical devices field, where 80 per cent of UK companies are SMEs, that difference potentially means clearer lines to market, a faster and cheaper approvals process and with the UK becoming an increasingly attractive test-bed for new products. Business and patients both benefit.

Work is going on to advance these ideas that overturn centuries of a carrot and stick approach to getting the best out of people and the systems they operate in, but will require collective buy-in from government, industry and regulators themselves.

Bids are being prepared to create a UK version of the Centers of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSIs) that have been created in the US by the Food and Drug Administration to drive better, smarter regulation.

The Birmingham Health Partners (BHP) cluster, which brings together academics from the University of Birmingham and local NHS Trusts released a report in July 2020 on the role of advancing regulatory science in the healthcare sector.

Professor Melanie Calvert, director of BHPs Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, says that the UKs departure from the EU provides a clear opportunity to capitalise on the kind of flexibility demonstrated through the coronavirus pandemic.

But to be globally competitive, she warns, the UK needs to invest in regulatory science in order to capitalise on the coming wave of inventions that will flow from digital tools, robotics, artificial intelligence and new therapeutic approaches, such as cell and gene therapy.

Developing a national strategy for UK regulatory science will allow us to be both globally competitive and internationally collaborative. Enabling groundbreaking products developed here to be efficiently deployed around the world will not be straightforward, and finding the best outcomes will rely on forward-thinking UK innovation in regulatory science, she says.

In short, there is a regulatory dividend to be won here, but its not quite as commonly conceived, and will require investment (not 25 per cent staff cuts to the medicines and medical devices regulator as the Financial Times reported last week) and a collective effort among officials, regulators and business on how we do things.

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Encouraging signs of Covid recovery continued this week with the latest increase in job numbers pushing the headline unemployment rate down to 4.7 per cent. The recruitment market is exceptionally buoyant, according to staffing agencies.

But there remains a Brexit sting in the tail for many businesses including hospitality and logistics, which have experienced recruitment difficulties caused in part by the ending of free movement and the governments bar on low-skilled immigration.

The government wants business to adjust and argues that the 5.6m EU workers who applied for settled status after Brexit should give sufficient flexibility to industry as that process takes place.

But with Covid restrictions only now lifting, it is too early to say how many EU workers will come back to jobs in the UK. Many, like truck drivers, may have discovered rival temptations during the lockdown, such as working closer to family and, in many EU countries, not having to drive on Sundays.

Business groups continue to call for short-term visa solutions to deal with the shortages, but the government is ideologically wedded to this new policy and is apparently loath to set precedents by flexing.

But as the ONS Labour Market statistics dropped this week, thats what business said it needed.

Elizabeth de Jong, policy director at Logistics UK, said the industry needed a short-term flexible solution on immigration to help manage the current shortages while new recruits are trained to enter the sector.

While SurenThiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, warned that a deep-rooted squeeze on labour supply from the impact of Covid and Brexit risks crimping economic activity. A more flexible immigration system is also needed to ensure that firms get access to the workers they need, he said.

No sign, as yet, of that memo having reached the Home Office.

And, finally, three unmissable Brexit stories

Poultry producers are blaming a run on chickens in the UK on post-Brexit immigration rules, saying the struggle to hire workers risks irrecoverable food shortages. One of Britains largest chicken producers, 2 Sisters Food Group, said on Wednesday that a chronic shortage of staff to process birds had left clients, including Nandos, short of meat. While the workforce has been affected by coronavirus, post-Brexit immigration restrictions have had a more severe effect, according to 2 Sisters.

Britain-Ireland freight flows have fallen 29 per cent since the Brexit deal came into force in January, according to an official report. Amid post-Brexit trade frictions, Irish businesses have opted to send goods directly into Europe to avoid the risk of UK border delays. Britains share of ro-ro traffic with Ireland, meanwhile, has fallen from 84 per cent two years ago to 67 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

And one EU story for the road. If the German Greens gain power in Septembers federal election, expect a sharp break from the policies of outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel. In a rare interview with the foreign press, Annalena Baerbock, the Green candidate for chancellor, called for looser limits on EU member states budget deficits and debt levels. Baerbock has also been tougher on foreign policy than her main rivals, suggesting that the EU imposes import duties on state-backed Chinese companies and accusing the Merkel government of being soft on Moscow.

My colleague, Philip Stafford, will be your Briefing host next week. Hell be writing about the UKs unwillingness to repeal the banker bonus legislation even though nobody likes it. You wont want to miss that.

Ill be back in a fortnight and would still very much appreciate your feedback on this newsletter and your stories if you work in an industry that has been affected by the UKs departure from the EUs single market and custom union. Contact me at[emailprotected].

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The Real Opportunity Of Brexit - Todayuknews - Todayuknews

London is firmly open for business, and that is a message emanating from the gleaming towers of the city, the corridors of government and the flashing screens of the stock exchange.

Two years ago, the British press was full of news about leaving the European Union (which the UK did formally on January 31, 2020). It was a theme which had dominated the media for years, and there seemed little sign of it changing. Then, news began to emerge of a strange new respiratory virus in a Chinese city called Wuhan

Now, the worst excesses of COVID-19 seem to be abating, and parts of the world are starting to shake off the strictures of lockdown. We have found, perhaps to our surprise, that life goes on. It is very far from business as usualadaptation is one of the key skills of the new economic landscapenevertheless, the world keeps turning, and we must turn with it.

So, what is it like in the UK? What are the opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders? How has the landscape changed? Is the UK economy different than it was before?

At the moment, London is a thriving center for the tech industry, home to more than 60 unicorns, according to the annual report of growth platform Tech Nation. Some are growing at an extraordinary rate: DivideBuy, a lending platform, reported average growth of 20,733 percent over a three-year period, while Popsa, a photobook specialist, went up 10,576 percent. And IPOs are on the rise, too; technology and consumer internet listings accounted for more than half of total capital raised in the first six months of 2021.

This development should be prominently on the radar of investors and others. London has traditionally lagged behind the U.S. for tech floatations, but the momentum is firmly on the eastern side of the Atlantic right now. One reason is that tech is becoming understood in a broader context; it is no longer just software and social media, but the heart which drives platforms in all sectorsand that is where London gains an advantage. The capital has strength in depth in areas like energy, telecommunications and financial services, and that infrastructure increasingly gives it the edge over not just Amsterdam or Frankfurt but even New York.

Observers from the U.S. should also be aware of the emerging regulatory environment. The UK government sponsored a review of how companies raise money on the capital markets, led by former cabinet minister and EU commissioner Lord Jonathan Hill of Oareford. Its recommendations were published with a distinctly deregulatory flavor and have been warmly welcomed by the UK Treasury. Chancellor Rishi Sunak remarked: Our vision is for a more open, greener and more technologically advanced financial services sector.

That vision is being delivered on a number of fronts. The prospectus regime for companies seeking finance will be reviewed and made less burdensome (code for less exhaustive and rigorous). The government also intends to relax the rules on dual-class shares, allowing differentiated voting rights but only for up to five years and with a maximum voting ratio limited to 20:1. The free float requirements will also be reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent.

All of this is a strong sign of intent. The political establishment has argued bitterly over a vision for the UK after Brexit, but a constant theme has been the creation of a free-market, light-touch-regulation, agile trading hub modelled in part on Singapore and the ghost of colonial Hong Kong. The current conservative administration, pandemic notwithstanding, has a buccaneering wind in its sails, and the effects on investment are clear.

However, there is something more, something besides share prices and rules and floatations. There is, unquestionably, a new mood in the City of London. Like any financial hub, it still bears the scars and the bloodied hands of the financial crisis. But financial services are growing in confidence, beginning to point to the contribution they make to the wider economy and realizing that they have somehow survived the worst of the pandemic.

This new mood combines relieflife, as I noted earlier, goes onand eager openness. The UK has much to prove in the wake of Brexit, as witnessed by the hyperactivity of international trade secretary Elizabeth Truss, forging deals around the world. Early predictions of the collapse of UK financial services have been proved wrong. Fund managers are looking at new regulation changes; the overall European market is fracturing among Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Dublin, Luxembourg and Paris; and current estimates are that only 7,400 jobs have been relocated from London to other European centers.

London is firmly open for business, and that is a message emanating from the gleaming towers of the city, the corridors of government and the flashing screens of the stock exchange. There is a sense that anything is possible. Anyone who works in business or finance should prick up their ears, and maybe look at upcoming flights to London.

Eliot Wilson is the cofounder ofPivot Point, a change management, strategy and PR consultancy based in London.

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Inside the UKs Post-Brexit Economy: Why Investors Should Have an Eye on London - Worth

Scotlands ruling party, the Scottish National Party (SNP), have recently claimed that trade complications created by Brexit are costing the Scotch whisky industry 5 million ($6.9 million) a week.

The SNP used sales figures comparing sales from January-May 2021 to the same period in 2019, revealing that export levels were lower by 105.7 million ($146.5 million). Lending strength to the argument is that EU sales figures following the end of the Brexit transition period, from January to March 2021, dropped 135.9 million ($188.5 million) compared to the same period in 2019.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson with whisky in 2019. His government has a mixed record when it comes ... [+] to defending the whisky industry's interests.

The UK government, led by the pro-Brexit Conservative party, have called the claims misleading, saying that it is hard to draw conclusions in the wake of the effects of the Covid pandemic and rising export levels compared to 2020.

Walking the tightrope between these two views is the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), which represents the interests of the industry across trade and policy. In an official statement, it pointed out the rising levels of exports since a 2020 nadir, while also making clear that doing business in the EU has become more complicated thanks to the changes in trade that Brexit has created:

The way Scotch Whisky is exported to the European Union has changed since Brexit, and producers have had to adapt to changes to customs systems, labelling and paperwork, as well as the withdrawal of some transport services.

"The level of exports fluctuates month by month, and this has been impacted over the past eighteen months by both the Covid-19 pandemic as well as by the UKs departure from the EU.

While it was undoubtedly a tough start to the year for companies, the drop in exports in the first quarter is partly explained by increased exports in December 2020.

"Now that infection-control measures in many of our global markets are easing, the pace of the industrys export recovery is encouraging.

The cost of doing business is certainly higher for Scotch whisky companies because of Brexit, and to some extent favor larger companies that can absorb the costs while smaller producers might lose out. For example, the price of materials that come from the EU used in Scotch whisky has risen. The SNP Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade Drew Hendry claimed in June that the price of cardboard and glass used by the industry is up 12% and 7% respectively.

Many UK retailers were also not shipping to the EU following the end of the transition period. The worlds largest online whisky retailer, The Whisky Exchange, has recently started shipping to the EU again after many months of not being able to do so, while another large online vendor, Master of Malt, is still not delivering to the EU.

Despite Downing Streets protests, Brexit has also complicated the process of exporting despite the free trade agreement signed between the EU and UK. On its website covering Brexit, the SWA makes clear that there have been delays and disruptions to shipments, that exporting to the EU is now more expensive and complicated, and shipping to Northern Ireland is still problematic.

Though Brexit has clearly not helped the Scotch whisky industry thus far, the picture is still rosier than 2020, when US tariffs and economic uncertainties from the Covid pandemic were also hitting overall sales hard. However, as the EU is one of the Scotch whisky industrys key markets, Brexit uncertainties are unlikely to go away any time soon.

Read more from the original source:

Brexit Is Costing The Scotch Whisky Industry 5 Million A Week - Forbes

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Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago that is home to more polar bears than people, is poised to become the scene of a cod war between Norway and the EU.

In the coming weeks, EU fishing vessels risk being seized in waters off Svalbard and their owners prosecuted because Norway says they have used up their quotas. The debate over permitted catches is an inflammatory legacy of the way the EU reallocated fishing quotas around the Continent after Brexit, and the Norwegians argue that Brussels illegally awarded itself a larger trawl of Svalbard's fish than it was entitled to.

There is no basis in international law for the European Union to set quotas in Norwegian waters, Audun Halvorsen, state secretary to the Norwegian minister for foreign affairs, told POLITICO.

In diplomatic correspondence, Brussels and Oslo accuse each other of breaching international law in trying to determine the new cod catch.

The politically influential fishing industry is at the center of the dispute, but geopolitics lurk in the background. Norway is suspicious that the EU is trying to lay down legal precedents for exercising its interests in the increasingly strategic Arctic, where global warming is opening up more opportunities in terms of shipping routes and the development of natural resources.

In the diplomatic correspondence, seen by POLITICO, Norway has noted the interest the EU has increasingly taken towards the Arctic," and warns that the messy legal tussle could have "foreign and security policy implications."

The divorce deal between Brussels and London triggered the conflict with Norway. The EU and the U.K. agreed to a carve-up with each other of their existing fisheries quotas, which determine how much fish of each species can be caught. As part of that post-Brexit deal, Brussels allocated 24,645 tons for EU vessels fishing off Svalbard.

These numbers were immediately disputed by Norway. Oslo insists it has the exclusive right to regulate fishing in the area and reduced the EU catches around Svalbard to almost 18,000 tons.

Controlling the resources in our national waters is a matter of fundamental national interest, as it is for the EU and its member states in EU waters, said Norway's Halvorsen.

Brussels challenged the Norwegian quota by referring to the Svalbard Treaty. That treaty, which was signed in Paris in 1920, puts limitations on Norwegian sovereignty over the archipelago. In its diplomatic communication, the EU argued Norway has discriminated against Brussels in favor of Norwegian and Russian vessels.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkeviius assured industry in a letter in April, seen by POLITICO, that he will support the legitimate rights of the European Fishing Industry and that the Commission is analyzing appropriate measures to counter the discriminatory measures by Norway.

But Oslo is sticking to its guns.

After meeting Sinkeviius in February, Norwegian Fisheries Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen called the EUs quota setting completely unacceptable behavior and said that any fishing beyond Norways quota allocations will be illegal fishing and will be enforced by the coast guard in the usual way.

While the EU accused Norway of breaking international law, Oslo smashed the ball right back in Brussels' court, according to the diplomatic correspondence, by stating that the EUs communication contains elements that could be read or interpreted as supporting views that would undermine legal certainty and predictability, jeopardize effective environmental controls and responsible resource management, and in its logical conclusion, could give rise to potential foreign and security policy implications.

Until now, the cod war between Norway and the EU has been a cold war, limited to heated diplomatic exchanges.

But that is about to change now that fishing quota are running out and EU vessels risk arrest and prosecution. Norway insists enforcement of the quota is fundamental to sustainable management of fisheries resources, said Halvorsen.

Industry officials from Germany, Spain, Portugal, France and Poland are gearing up for a fight, signaling that they have no intention of marching to Oslos tune. Spain's agriculture ministry said it had joined Germany, France and Portugal in sending a letter to Sinkeviius urging "the Commission to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the European Union in the face of a unilateral decision by Norway in violation of international law."

"For the EU's own credibility, it must ensure that its partners respect their commitments," the ministry in Madrid added.

We are not going to give up our quota, said Ivn Lpez, chairman of the Long Distance Advisory Council and president of the Spanish Cod Association. We will keep fishing until the EU tells us we have exhausted our quota or until Norway stops us.

Diek Parlevliet, chairman of the European North Atlantic Fisheries Association, reckoned the quota would be reached around the third week of August.

If Norway seizes boats, Parlevliet argued the EU should impose an import ban for Norwegian cod. Trade restrictions are the EUs only weapon. But of course, we hope for a diplomatic solution before there are any arrests.

Parlevliet and his colleagues dont understand Norway's game. The amounts that we are talking about are hugely important to prevent our whole business model from collapsing," he said. "For us cod fishers, its to be or not to be. But for Norway, it doesnt make sense to start a trade war with their biggest import market over a couple of thousand tons of cod.

Lpez also had trouble understanding why Norway would be willing to risk its relationship with the EU over 5,000 tons of cod, especially when they have quotas of almost 400,000 tons ... It makes no sense, he said.

He hinted that Oslo may have its eyes on something more than cod since the 1920 treaty regulates all natural resources in the archipelago.

Its easier and cheaper to argue about cod than about more valuable resources, Lpez said. Lets remember, for example, that Norway just announced 164 new oil exploration blocks in the Arctic which would be precisely these waters. It is clear that there are mining interests.

Brussels warned Norway in its latest diplomatic communication in June that the enforcement of the new quota would hurt overall EU-Norway relations.

But while threatening to take all necessary remedial countermeasures in respect of Norway, it failed to specify what those countermeasures would be.

A European Commission spokesperson said that the EU believes that the correct implementation of the Paris Treaty is in the interest of all parties, including Norway and that contacts with Norway continue.

Industry officials point out that Norway is in the midst of a campaign for an election in mid-September. The Commission might want to wait until Norwegian politicians have a little more political room for maneuver. But in the meantime, fishermen face a real threat of prosecution, on top of economic insecurity.

When asked about the impact of the cod war on EU-Norway relations, Halvorsen said both countries are longstanding strategic partners with shared values, and we work closely together to find joint solutions to common challenges, which the breadth of our relationship is testament to.

But those comments don't sit well with fishermen.

If the way for one party to win the elections is to spite the EU and break the future of its cod fleets, it doesnt signal that relations with Norway are as honest as they should be, said Lpez.

Read more:

EU faces Arctic cod war with Oslo over post-Brexit rights - POLITICO.eu