Category Archives: Brexit

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

France, Italy and Germany, the three leading European powers, are each trying to reach bilateral post-Brexit agreements with the UK, after Britain said it was not interested in closer security and foreign policy cooperation with the EU.

The behind-the-scenes discussion at ambassadorial and ministerial levels runs in contrast to some of the negative rhetoric from Downing Street about its approach to its EU partners. The discussions have focused on defence cooperation but go far wider, and would be the first signs that the UK was capable of forging positive bilateral relations with its European partners.

Boris Johnsons willingness last week to host the Hungarian prime minister as the first mainland European leader in Downing Street was regarded as a setback to a gradual normalisation of British-European relations. Viktor Orbn is seen as a disruptor of the EU. The UK rejected a foreign and security component when it negotiated Brexit with the EU in December, leading European countries to improve bilateral relations.

But Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, on his recent visit to the UK for the G7 foreign ministers summit, also agreed plans to revive before the summer the annual meeting between French and UK defence and foreign ministers. The last such meeting was in Brittany two years ago, but no meet-up occurred last year as a result of Covid and Brexit.

On many issues, we have congruent views, shared analysis or common interests. We are neighbours. We cannot sit there immobile staring at one another, Le Drian said.

Despite the recent row between French and Channel Islands fishers, the French have not ruled out a summit between Johnson and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, this year.

France and the UK are the major European military powers and, since the Lancaster House agreement was signed 10 years ago, the two countries have maintained close defence ties.

The Italian embassy in the UK also hopes Rome will reach an understanding or mini-treaty with the UK this year.

The Italian deputy defence minister, Giorgio Mul, claimed the UKs recent integrated foreign and security review showed a willingness to keep the British commitment to security in Europe high.

To relaunch cooperation, he said it was necessary to anchor an industrial policy capable of coping with the aggressive and often ruthless international and, in particular, Chinese competition with competence, know-how, ability and technological innovation.

Mul is looking at ways in which Italian domestic legislation can be adapted so that UK defence trade with Italy can be treated as trade with a like-minded partner and not simply as a third partner. Italy and the UK historically have cooperated closely on defence production, including on large products such as the EH 101 heavy helicopters.

For years, Leonardo and its British counterpart BAE Systems have been working on the sixth-generation fighter, the Tempest, the result of a bilateral collaboration that in turn has created larger industrial consortia.

As president of the G20, Italy is also trying to dovetail its work on climate change with the UK, which is chair of the UN Cop26 summit in Glasgow. Cooperation with the UK on foreign policy has also been made easier with the appointment of Mario Draghi as Italian prime minister. Although he is a staunch supporter of the EU, he is far more sceptical about links with Russia and China, the preference sometimes of Italys populist parties.

Germany and the UK have been working for months on a joint statement on British-German cooperation, underscoring the shared values between the two countries despite Brexit.

Andreas Michaelis, the German ambassador to the UK, is quite open in admitting in this phase the focus has to be on building a stronger bilateral relationship with the UK, rather than the UK into the hands of the EU. The UK, he says, would be an ideal partner for a deep alliance with Germany.

There are still discussions about whether the UK will see its main foreign policy cooperation with Europe via Nato, the G7, the E3 or something specifically with Europe.

The E3 Germany France and the UK has been used for many years as the vehicle with which to coordinate policy on Iran, and at the Nato summit Johnson convened a meeting of the E3 plus Turkey to discuss northern Syria, saying he would like to see the E3 coordinate more in future.

But for Germany, a significant extension of the format would risk undermining the EU, and Germanys historic role as defender of the interests of smaller states.

The E3 clearly excludes other big players such as Italy, Poland and the Netherlands.

This article was amended on 1 June 2021. An earlier headline described countries as vying for post-Brexit deals. This has been corrected.

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France, Italy and Germany seek post-Brexit deals with UK - The Guardian

The historic deal signed this weekend is intended to prevent digital companies such as Google and Facebook from playing a cat-and-mouse game with national tax authorities.

G7 finance ministers have established a minimum global corporation tax rate of 15% a rate that can ultimately be applied by all nations. One that they believe tackles the huge inequalities between the major, mostly US digital firms, and the rest of the business community, a divide that has been made worse during the pandemic.

Words like historic and landmark are being used here because international tax deals are rare and usually scuppered by countries that either charge low levels of tax, such as Ireland, Hungary and Cyprus, or that have close ties to tax havens, such as the UK and the Netherlands.

It is a stark contrast to a year ago, when Donald Trumps White House team was fighting at every turn against proposals put forward by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for a global corporate tax rate.

Trump supported low taxes on corporations as a matter of principle but also wanted the likes of Amazon, Apple and Google to dominate the world, in order to prevent Beijing from exercising its growing strength in digital services.

With Joe Biden installed as US president, the situation has turned 180 degrees. With a tailwind of support for higher taxes on corporations and the super-rich to pay for his recovery programmes, Biden embarked on an ambitious plan to get agreement on a 21% minimum tax rate, since watered down to 15% this weekend.

The deal must now go forward to the G20 group of nations, where China and Russia, among others, will consider whether they want to back the proposals.

Critics say Biden, the UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and EU leaders should stand firm and revive the 21% proposal. Too often, minimum tax rates become the norm, and 15% is well below the level set by many developed countries.

Most EU countries support the higher rate, yet have been hampered in their efforts to present a unified stance when Ireland, the co-chair of the eurozone group of finance ministers and an effective lobbyist for low taxes, stands with Cyprus and Hungary. They charge 12.5%, 12.5% and 9% corporate tax rates respectively.

On Friday morning the finance ministers of Germany, France, Italy and Spain went into the negotiations talking tough, but it appears that rather than dissenting in favour of 21%, they were dragged into a compromise along with other G7 members.

Sunaks stance appears equivocal. He has declared himself a supporter of a global deal, but there is a suspicion that he is going along with the plan to stay onside with the US not because he believes in it.

The former hedge fund manager has a large constituency of Tory MPs who support low corporate taxes and will pounce on anything that smells like a loss of sovereignty so soon after Brexit. In the detail of any deal will be clauses preventing finance ministries from offering inducements and tax breaks that effectively undermine the 15% minimum.

These clauses will be hammered out as it reaches its next hurdle before final agreement by the G20. Will the government support these measures, or lobby against them to maintain the flexibility it sought when pursuing Brexit?

The tax deal explained

First stage

The proposed regime would create a new right for countries to tax the largest multinationals profits based on where they make their sales. Guidelines written by the OECD are primarily focused on large digital companies, but it would also apply to consumer-facing businesses where they may not have a physical presence in the place they sell products directly to consumers, such as Amazon.

Second stage

Provides for a minimum tax rate that the G7 recommends should be 15%. This applies to all large businesses. If they are not taxed at this rate in a country where they declare tax, the OECD guidelines allow a separate but complementary set of rules to reallocate those taxing rights to another state. Essentially, this is a safety net to make sure multinational companies doing business around the world always pay a minimum level of taxation.

This article was amended on 6 June 2021 to change a reference to a headwind to a tailwind.

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Agreement to tax Google and Facebook is historic. Will Brexit Britain stay onside? - The Guardian

French and German educational trip organisers bringing as many as 750,000 school pupils to the UK every year have warned that tougher post-Brexit entry requirements are likely to cut the number of young Europeans visiting Britain by half.

Weve already seen a big fall-off in interest, said Edward Hisbergues, the sales manager of a leading French operator, PG Trips. My business was 90% UK, 10% Ireland; now its all about Ireland. Schools are inquiring about visits to the Netherlands or Malta.

The British government has rejected requests from organisers to exempt children taking part in short organised educational trips from new passport and visa measures due to come into effect on 1 October, saying they are needed to strengthen Britains borders.

The organisers said many thousands of UK host families, language schools, hotels and other businesses around the country, and especially in cities such as Canterbury that specialise in the educational market, risked suffering a significant economic impact.

They also said the new border restrictions could inflict broader and longer-term damage to Britains relations with Europe.

School trips foster intercultural understanding and reduce prejudice, wrote the German federation of leading school trip organisers, whose members run 7,000 trips a year to the UK representing more than 1.5m overnight stays.

They forge lifelong connections with the UK, increase tolerance for people, cultures and different ways of living and thinking, and help the acquisition of language skills in the internationally most important language.

Hisbergues said school trips abroad really open eyes. They can inspire kids and change the course of young lives.

Ingo Dobbert, the deputy chair of the German federation, said German children risk being excluded from the valuable experience their predecessors had of travelling to and living in the UK.

The French and German organisers said the UK governments decision to no longer accept EU national ID cards for entry into Britain from 1 October would deter less well-off families, since the cost of a passport could increase a trips price by 10% to 20% per child, depending on age.

They are particularly concerned about the abolition of collective passports the list of travellers scheme that allowed non-EU students, usually from immigrant families, to travel as part of an organised group without needing a UK visa.

Schools in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other EU countries often allow trips only if every pupil in the class can take part, meaning groups with even one non-EU pupil will no longer consider Britain as a viable option because of the cost and administrative hassle of securing a UK visa, the organisers said.

Between 5% and 10% of German children on school trips to the UK would need to apply for a visa costing 95 under the new rules, the companies said, while half of French trips would be at risk for the same reason.

In letters sent to Boris Johnson and the Home Office, the organisers noted that school trips generate much-needed income for many UK host families, as well as for museums, theatres and attractions such as Stonehenge, the London Eye and the Brighton Pavilion, usually outside the busy holiday season.

In many British towns, student visitors are a vital part of the local economy, the German federation wrote. Frances 10,000 school trips a year represent a direct annual input into the UK economy of 100m, French organisers said. Dobbert said he felt the British government was not thinking of the long-term impact of this.

Susan Jones of LinguaStay, a UK homestay accommodation provider, said her firm welcomed 10,000 continental schoolchildren a year into Chester, with 300 regular host families and six employees.

So many people, with so much to lose, she said. The short-stay educational travel market will die. And these are schoolchildren, travelling with their teachers not a security threat.

Both the French and German organisers asked the government to consider allowing under-18s travelling as part of organised trips lasting less than two weeks to enter the UK with ID cards, and urged it to maintain the list of travellers for school groups.

The minister for future borders and immigration, Kevin Foster, has rejected their requests, saying in replies to multiple individuals and organisations that the government was committed to strengthening the security of our border.

From 1 October, most European Economic Area nationals will require a passport like everyone else, Foster said, adding that the list of travellers scheme would end on the same date and all pupils, no matter their nationality, will need a passport and visa if required to visit the UK on an organised school trip.

Continuing the scheme would run counter to plans for a position where everyone obtains an individual permission in advance of travel from the Home Office, he said, with those permissions used to keep those who may pose a threat away from our border and facilitate the passage of legitimate travellers.

Foster added that the government had provided almost a years notice for these changes to allow people to plan ahead and obtain a passport, and visa if they need to, before they travel.

Dobbert said his federation had the strong impression that the British government has very little understanding of the problems well have equipping children with passports and organising visas for non-German citizens.

He said the new measures would cause the costs of a journey to the UK to explode, and have a considerable influence on our decision to travel to the UK. It will force us to choose alternative English-speaking destinations.

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School trips to UK from EU could halve as Brexit hits cultural exchanges - The Guardian

It was billed as the rebirth of British business a chance to build a brighter commercial future, free of costly bureaucracy. But Brexit is proving far from profitable for many UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Swamped by paperwork, taxes, and eye-watering additional costs, some are having to shutter their EU operations indefinitely. Others, unwilling to cut off European customers, are simply upping sticks, and moving to the Continent.

Antos, a Scottish dog chew producer, is one such firm.

"We've had to move the whole export side of our UK business to within the EU," says owner Antoon Murphy. "We simply weren't able to efficiently provide for our European customers from Britain anymore, with all the extra health certificates and documentation that's required."

Big changes

Prior to leaving the EU, trading with the Continent couldn't have been easier. Shipping orders to the likes of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France was often cheaper than servicing remote parts of the UK. Now outside of the bloc, British exporters must wrestle with a mountain of documents on rules of origin, customs, and VAT when sending stock to Europe. If the item contains animal products, as Antos's dog chews do, the paperwork is particularly onerous.

With this in mind, Antoon decided to partially relocate to France, acquiring a warehouse two hours east of Lyon. Having recruited a small local workforce, he's recently resumed barrier-free business with continental Europe, where the company makes around a quarter of its overall sales. Though it's early days yet, he has no regrets.

"There was an option to just walk away and fold that area of the business, but we'd worked for the last six or seven years gaining those customers through going to trade shows and engaging with them online. I didn't want to give them up."

Antoon Murphy sas his firm wasn't able to provide for European customers from Britain anymore

Non-tarrif barriers

It's a conundrum that confronts many British businesses. Though the UK government securedan eleventh-hour tariff-free trade with Brussels, massive non-tariff barriers have emerged since the start of the year. Exports to the EU fell by almost 20% in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the final free months of 2020,official figures show, while goods traveling in the other direction Europe to the UK dropped by over one-fifth.

Much of the pain has been felt by Britain's small businesses. In the first 12 weeks of the year, close to a third had lost consignments in transit to the Continent,an industry survey revealed, with 70% suffering some sort of shipment delays. As a result, almost a quarter said they had temporarily stopped sending goods into Europe.

The British government has remained bullish throughout the post-Brexit period,promising that these early setbacks are simply "teething problems"that'll ease with time. But some experts aren't convinced.

"With the changes to VAT, rules of origin, customs paperwork, these are related to the UK leaving the customs union and single market, and us undergoing such a huge change to our trading relationship with the EU," James Sibley, head of International Affairs at theFederation of Small Businesses (FSB), told DW. "These changes are not going away," he added.

Looking on the bright side

There is, however, optimism around the flip side of Brexit Britain being able to broker its own global trade agreements. More than two-thirds of FSB members trade with non-EU countries, and though new markets such as Australia, New Zealand, the US and Japan might not entirely mitigate commercial losses in Europe, it is an exciting prospect, said Sibley.

In the meantime, the government has launched a 20 million (23.2 million, 19 million) fund to support EU-exporting SMEs struggling with post-Brexit barriers an acknowledgment of the breadth of the issues they're facing.

The money is only available to businesses that solely trade with Europe, however, excluding the likes of Forageplus, a Wales-based seller of nutritional horse supplements.

Fees slapped on Forageplus's products in the destination country have impacted the firm's European sales

"In a lot of the European countries now things are running smoothly," said General Manager Kieren Brownhill, who had to overcome huge logistical hurdles in the first weeks of 2021. "It's very expensive for the customer to receive the goods, however they're being charged anywhere from 20% to 40%, and it seems totally random what the charges are."

These fees, slapped on Forageplus's products by customs authorities in the destination country, have put the firm's European sales into reverse. Brownhill and the team now plan to double down on their domestic customer base, noting that a move to the EU just isn't viable.

Moving to Germany?

For SMEs that can consider relocating to the Continent, Germany is among the most promising destinations, officials say.

"Germany is a hugely important market, 83 million consumers," said Dr. Ulrich Hoppe, director general of the German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce in London. "There's an established trading relationship and profitable business to be done across the Channel."

Many UK firms have contacted the German-British Chamber of Industry, keen to learn more about setting up in Germany

It's a message that's resonating with UK businesses around 250 have contacted the chamber over the last year, keen to learn more about setting up in Germany. Those who do make the move will be employing EU citizens and contributing to European coffers, money and jobs that Britain will miss out on.

As for Antoon Murphy, he's enjoying the best of both worlds: Half of the year will now be spent in the beautiful French Alps, overseeing the growth of the European and UK businesses. There is, however, a rather sizable hurdle on the horizon.

"FromOctober 1, there will be a requirement on our suppliers in Europe to provide export health certificates for all goods entering Britain," said Antoon.

"We've asked the UK's Animal Plant Health Agency for assistance in identifying and creating new health certificates for our products, but so far they are yet to assist."

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Small UK firms struggle with post-Brexit hurdles to doing business in Europe - DW (English)

Australian Brexit used to be an upbeat euphemism for a no deal Brexit outcome. Now, Australia promises a far more profound insight into the true nature of Brexit. The free trade deal being negotiated with Canberra will give a first inkling as to the economic implications, and ultimate meaning, of the decision to leave the European Union.

The deal led to angry skirmishes in cabinet. On one side were a set of ministers favouring a zero-tariff agreement. For them, trade deals are a way of taking on entrenched lobbies and beginning the profound reform of the UK economy for which Brexit was simply an overture. On the other were those, chiefly George Eustice and Michael Gove, worried primarily about the effect on agriculture, but also about the fact that the impact of cheap beef imports from Australia may well be disproportionately felt by Scottish farmers.

The argument seems to have been won by those favouring liberalisation. In purely economic terms, the stakes are low, but trade is just the opening salvo in the post-Brexit economic battles to come.

It is striking that four out of five of the authors of Britannia Unchained a totemic work that called for aggressive deregulation of the UK economy now sit in senior cabinet positions. For believers in such ideas, trade liberalisation represents merely the first step on the path towards more fundamental economic reform.

Certainly, circumstances have changed since Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab and yes, Liz Truss, laid out their ambitious economic manifesto. As James Forsyth has argued, both the pandemic and the rise of China have contributed to a reassessment among Conservatives of the appropriate role of the state in economic management.

This makes the choice created by pursuing this deal even more profound. Put simply, the deregulatory agenda inherent in pursuing this agreement runs counter to the governments interventionist post-pandemic economic agenda.

The fact that such choices have not yet been made (or even properly debated) is both remarkable and completely unsurprising. After all, a major feature of the 2016 Leave campaign was a refusal to define what, precisely, Brexit would mean.

Cultivated ambiguity was a necessary means of maintaining a disparate coalition, comprised of proponents of a liberal, free trading Britain free of the shackles imposed by Brussels, and of those arguing in favour of a future that would insulate the UK from the pernicious consequences of globalisation. In many respects, these agendas were incompatible. The Leave coalition was always wider than it was deep.

And that coalition presents another obstacle to economic reform. The Conservatives, judging by their electoral base, are now far more clearly the party of Leave than of a small state. There is no public appetite for the kind of deregulatory initiatives favoured by some in government.

Nearly nine in 10 are opposed to allowing the import of hormone-treated beef, three quarters feel the same about chlorinated chicken and more than half are in favour of the ban on GM crops (the figures for Leave supporters are 86 percent, 72 percent and 60 percent respectively). Nor are red wall voters likely to share the enthusiasm of right-wing Tories for a smaller state or fewer protections for workers.

The kind of economic reform long dreamt of by Conservative Eurosceptics and which would, for instance, make it much easier to strike an ambitious trade deal with the United States, risks not merely antagonising voters, but splintering the Leave coalition.

Yet inaction, too, would have wider implications. After all, if regulatory divergence is not the ultimate objective of Brexit, then why has the government insisted on its right to diverge, with disastrous implications for many sectors and firms that rely on trade with the EU? As Daniel Hannan has put it, there is no argument whatever for abandoning the advantages of membership and then ignoring the opportunities of withdrawal.

Moreover, if the government does not intend to break with the EUs model of economic governance, why risk continued instability in Northern Ireland, when an agreement to keep the UK in sync with EU rules on plant and animal imports would address most of the concerns about the operation of the Northern Ireland protocol?

It is hard to see Leave supporters marching en masse to protest such a limited and technical move. To fail to diverge while paying the political and economic cost of demanding the right to do so is, to say the least, an unconventional strategy.

And so, some five years into the Brexit journey, we may finally be at the point of knowing what, precisely Brexit means. It is only then that we will come to know who, ultimately, Brexit is for. Ambiguity has run its course. Choices will have to be made, and free trade agreements signal the first of these. Will Brexiters have the courage of their convictions?

Anand Menon is the director of UK in a Changing Europe and professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at Kings College London

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We still dont know what or who Brexit is actually for - The Independent

Winners of a cross-Channel competition for amateur artists to shake off the Brexit blues have gone on display in Paris.

I Love You, Moi Non Plus drew more than 400 submissions including paintings, illustrations, photography, music and writing aimed at exploring the new British-French relationship. Many entries featured the union flag and tricolore, while others made reference to fishing, the most contentious post-Brexit issue between the UK and France. Twenty works were chosen for the exhibition.

Ruth Mackenzie, the chair of Arts Council Englands London Area Council and former director of Scottish Opera, who divides her time between Paris and London, dreamed up the project to remind people that Brexit was more than just economics.

The artwork submitted by people showed the depth of emotion sparked by Brexit, which ran from rage to grief and sadness with a lot of humour and wit. Most people found something to laugh about, even if it was bittersweet, said Mackenzie.

We had entries from the young to the retired and from around the world. For me it showed that however heartbreaking Brexit is, we have to laugh.

The competition title, I Love You, Moi Non Plus was inspired by Serge Gainsbourgs 1969 hit with Jane Birkin, Je TAime Moi Non Plus. To inspire amateur artists, a number of celebrities also took part.

Brian Eno contributed a design combining the UK and French flags with the words Enmeshed and its French translation Entrelac.

French director Mohamed El Khatibs contribution was school lines in red, white and blue saying: Je ne dois pas dire du mal de Boris Johnson (I must not say bad things about Boris Johnson).

One work entitled Something Precious Has Been Lost was a photograph of two hands holding a single yellow star from the European Union flag. Another showed Scottish and French fishers and the caption: Tu apportes la sardine (you bring the sardines), Ill bring the toast. Together we have a feast.

Charlotte Paszkiewicz, whose entry showed a child walking a tightrope from a Parisian building to a London phone box, said the competition had given her a chance to create an artwork about a subject very close to my heart.

I live in the UK with my English husband we met through the Erasmus programme as students almost 20 years ago and our eight-year-old little boy who I try to bring up bilingual and aware and proud of both English and French cultures.

The project, partnered by the Somerset House arts centre and the fashion store Dover Street Market, was inspired by last years lockdown competition by David Hockney called Hope in Spring.

This was harder than the spring theme because people really had to think about expressing what life after Brexit meant to them. It was interesting that we had so many entries from children because the theme is quite a complicated concept, Mackenzie said.

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We have to laugh: Brexit art show hits Paris - The Guardian