Johnson’s nuclear option loosens trade talks blockage

T

tangerinenotorange

Well-known member
Following the dropping of a bomb by the UK government in the form of the Internal Market Bill, the EU has now removed its threat to blockade food exports to Northern Ireland. Michel Barnier has told his UK counterpart Lord Frost that the EU was not serious about preventing food shipments being sent to the province. This reversal comes after Barnier’s warning threatened to seriously harm the current trade negotiations in Brussels which were described as a week of ‘useful talks’. Previously, Barnier had suggested the UK could be prevented from exporting to the EU unless the government published its exact post-Brexit plans for food safety.

Gaps remain between the parties in key areas, including fisheries and subsidies, but talks on these issues will continue next week. Issues previously blocking negotiations seem, in the light of the UK’s latest actions, to have suddenly become negotiable. The EU has hinted that the bloc could accept less stringent level-playing field regulations if a stronger enforcement measure is found. An EU spokesman said “If we want to make progress, we might need less content on a level-playing field and more on the need for a rock solid governance system. The developments of the last week have shown its importance”. The row over the government's Internal Market Bill has seen EU chiefs demand legally-binding clauses to protect any future trade agreement from being breached. Brussels yesterday announced that the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier could table new “governance” rules for the future cross-Channel relationship. He is understood to want extra guarantees that the UK government cannot break any deal agreed between the two sides.

So, it seems the proposed legislation has made the EU sit up and take notice, and issues that last week were EU red lines have now become ‘less stringent’ as the EU realises its traditional bully boy negotiating tactics will no longer be tolerated by the UK. Keep up the good work Boris.
 
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Mexboroseasider said:
Not really He’s just asking Tonto to substantiate what he’s claiming. Very important these days - with all the Fake News, Bots, Russian trolls etc.
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The threat appears to have been invented by Boris and Dom. No government spokesman, when challenged, has actually confirmed any threat but simply changed topic. Now they can claim victory that the non-existent threat has been removed.

I think they call it gaslighting.
 
bollieboy said:
The threat appears to have been invented by Boris and Dom. No government spokesman, when challenged, has actually confirmed any threat but simply changed topic. Now they can claim victory that the non-existent threat has been removed.
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The threat from Barnier to not list the UK was clear enough and directly led to the Internal Market Bill. If Barnier is backtracking then he's probably had a bollocking from Auntie Ursula. There was an interesting observation from a Swiss politician this week as his country prepares for a referendum on its free movement deal with the EU. He said Switzerland should take a leaf out of the UK’s book. Theresa May failed because she appeared to the EU in exactly the same way as Switzerland. He said there was something masochistic about her willingness to compromise, whereas Johnson has put the EU under pressure and is a prime example of how to negotiate with the EU.
 
tommytwojags said:
The threat from Barnier to not list the UK was clear enough and directly led to the Internal Market Bill. If Barnier is backtracking then he's probably had a bollocking from Auntie Ursula. There was an interesting observation from a Swiss politician this week as his country prepares for a referendum on its free movement deal with the EU. He said Switzerland should take a leaf out of the UK’s book. Theresa May failed because she appeared to the EU in exactly the same way as Switzerland. He said there was something masochistic about her willingness to compromise, whereas Johnson has put the EU under pressure and is a prime example of how to negotiate with the EU.
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Your first two sentences are delusional. The rest of your post is ok.
 
We should just walk away from the trade talks and let the E.U. come back to us when they find they have problems in January of next year with the French fishermen rioting in Paris.
 
AndrewDuncanSmith said:
We should just walk away from the trade talks and let the E.U. come back to us when they find they have problems in January of next year with the French fishermen rioting in Paris.
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Ok. Because the third largest trading bloc in the world needs us far more than we do them, especially as we have no other sizeable deals in place.
 
tangerinenotorange said:
Following the dropping of a bomb by the UK government in the form of the Internal Market Bill, the EU has now removed its threat to blockade food exports to Northern Ireland. Michel Barnier has told his UK counterpart Lord Frost that the EU was not serious about preventing food shipments being sent to the province. This reversal comes after Barnier’s warning threatened to seriously harm the current trade negotiations in Brussels which were described as a week of ‘useful talks’. Previously, Barnier had suggested the UK could be prevented from exporting to the EU unless the government published its exact post-Brexit plans for food safety.

Gaps remain between the parties in key areas, including fisheries and subsidies, but talks on these issues will continue next week. Issues previously blocking negotiations seem, in the light of the UK’s latest actions, to have suddenly become negotiable. The EU has hinted that the bloc could accept less stringent level-playing field regulations if a stronger enforcement measure is found. An EU spokesman said “If we want to make progress, we might need less content on a level-playing field and more on the need for a rock solid governance system. The developments of the last week have shown its importance”. The row over the government's Internal Market Bill has seen EU chiefs demand legally-binding clauses to protect any future trade agreement from being breached. Brussels yesterday announced that the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier could table new “governance” rules for the future cross-Channel relationship. He is understood to want extra guarantees that the UK government cannot break any deal agreed between the two sides.

So, it seems the proposed legislation has made the EU sit up and take notice, and issues that last week were EU red lines have now become ‘less stringent’ as the EU realises its traditional bully boy negotiating tactics will no longer be tolerated by the UK. Keep up the good work Boris.
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What a load of bollox!!
 
tommytwojags said:
My first sentence was fact and you must have been cocooning to not know that. My second sentence was pure speculation, but following the principle of occam's razor is probably correct.
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Your first sentence was fact? No it wasn’t. The plans for the Internal Market Bill were started long before Barnier raised the issue of third country status. Your second sentence was, and remains, pure speculation. Occam’s razor states you should usually go for the simplest option. The simplest explanation is that Bojo is fibbing.
 
Mexboroseasider said:
Your first sentence was fact? No it wasn’t. The plans for the Internal Market Bill were started long before Barnier raised the issue of third country status. Your second sentence was, and remains, pure speculation. Occam’s razor states you should usually go for the simplest option. The simplest explanation is that Bojo is fibbing.
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Wrong on all counts as usual.
 
Curryman said:
What a surprise. You have to threaten them the same way as they threaten us. Well done Boris.
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It's a bit like a 6 year old kid threatening an adult though. Trade talks are about muscle and an 8 stone weakling wouldn't trouble Arnold Swartzenegger
 
And of course the UK’s ground breaking free trade deal with Japan is weighted 80/20 in favour of Japan in terms of value. 😳
 
Middxile said:
And of course the UK’s ground breaking free trade deal with Japan is weighted 80/20 in favour of Japan in terms of value. 😳
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But that's not true is it? And the Japan agreement opens the door to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is potentially a far more lucrative proposition than the EU.
 
Mexboroseasider said:
The Express I expect. The use of the word “blockade” is what gave it away.

Or Russia Today 😂
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I wouldn't believe a word the Express print, as I found out to my cost today when i quoted an article they had printed from a Jet2 'spokesperson' back to Jet2, who new nothing about it.
 
bollieboy said:
The threat appears to have been invented by Boris and Dom. No government spokesman, when challenged, has actually confirmed any threat but simply changed topic. Now they can claim victory that the non-existent threat has been removed.

I think they call it gaslighting.
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The 'threat' was made at a public forum last week.

"Brussels has warned farmers, businesses and animal welfare campaigners that it may be forced to ban all British exports of live animals and animal products such as cheese, beef, eggs, chicken and lamb from January 1.

European Commission officials told a meeting of trade associations and other stakeholders in Brussels on Friday that the ban was inevitable unless the UK gives details of its future animal health and food safety regime by the end of October.

UK farmers said it would devastate British agriculture while animal rights groups warned that livestock could suffer needlessly in long queues at borders.

The EU ban on an animal products trade worth more than £3 billion in 2019 would also apply to Northern Ireland. Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, Northern Ireland stays subject to EU animal health rules to prevent a hard Irish border after the Brexit transition period.

"Even for a short period this could be devastating [and] with catastrophic implications for UK farmers,” said Nick von Westenholz, of the National Farmers’ Union, who warned EU markets could be lost forever.

Listing should be a straightforward technical matter, he said. “It is disappointing that the issue now appears to be being politicised,” he added.

“The RSPCA is very concerned,” said David Bowles of the animal protection charity. "The consequences include slowing down the process for anyone wishing to take their pets on holiday and increased border checks at EU borders resulting in welfare problems for farm animals and race horses caught up in long queues.”"


I expect a some basic deal will be done then expanded upon later. I get the impression both sides think the other side will be forced to the table in future. I'm not so sure. We're a stubborn bunch and I don't think the EU bureaucrats have the best interests of ordinary Europeans as their priority.
 
Kip said:
The 'threat' was made at a public forum last week.

"Brussels has warned farmers, businesses and animal welfare campaigners that it may be forced to ban all British exports of live animals and animal products such as cheese, beef, eggs, chicken and lamb from January 1.

European Commission officials told a meeting of trade associations and other stakeholders in Brussels on Friday that the ban was inevitable unless the UK gives details of its future animal health and food safety regime by the end of October.

UK farmers said it would devastate British agriculture while animal rights groups warned that livestock could suffer needlessly in long queues at borders.

The EU ban on an animal products trade worth more than £3 billion in 2019 would also apply to Northern Ireland. Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, Northern Ireland stays subject to EU animal health rules to prevent a hard Irish border after the Brexit transition period.

"Even for a short period this could be devastating [and] with catastrophic implications for UK farmers,” said Nick von Westenholz, of the National Farmers’ Union, who warned EU markets could be lost forever.

Listing should be a straightforward technical matter, he said. “It is disappointing that the issue now appears to be being politicised,” he added.

“The RSPCA is very concerned,” said David Bowles of the animal protection charity. "The consequences include slowing down the process for anyone wishing to take their pets on holiday and increased border checks at EU borders resulting in welfare problems for farm animals and race horses caught up in long queues.”"


I expect a some basic deal will be done then expanded upon later. I get the impression both sides think the other side will be forced to the table in future. I'm not so sure. We're a stubborn bunch and I don't think the EU bureaucrats have the best interests of ordinary Europeans as their priority.
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That is nothing to do with the made-up threat of the EU banning food transportation between GB and NI. Your post is regarding animal trade between the UK and EU, which is dependent upon a FTA being agreed, and is independent of the WA.
 
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