CEO of chemicals group welcomes Brexit transition agreement

The EU has been steadfast in its position that financial services had never been included in a free trade agreement before Brexit, but the bloc’s intention to include services in its proposed free trade agreement with the US (TTIP) suggests that this stance is not so doctrinal that it can not be reversed.

Reality: In the press conference about the agreement, David Davis said that the period would actually be “the platform upon which we build the new relationship”, suggesting that negotiations will not be complete by the time the transition period starts. It also appears to be a closed-ended agreement that does not envisage extension. None caused more fury than the UK’s concession on fishing rights, which means that the EU will continue to set quotas and allow European fishing vessels into British waters. Any single member can veto the UK’s future relationship with the European Union and derail the process, meaning no deal is agreed before 2020.

Britain also agreed in principle to the EU’s “backstop” plan for the status of the Irish border, under which British-ruled Northern Ireland would remain part of the EU’s customs union if there is no better idea. It fails to please either the remain or leave camps, for obvious reasons, of course.

The UK’s decision to leave the EU in March 2019, following the 2016 referendum vote, has called into question its future participation in EU-wide crime-fighting bodies such as Europol and law enforcement agreements such as the European Arrest Warrant extradition scheme.

Under a joint withdrawal deal published on Monday, of which 75% is agreed, the United Kingdom will retain the benefits of the single market and customs union for “near enough to the two years we asked for”, Davis said, albeit while losing its role in any decision-making institutions.

European Union negotiator Michel Barnier said on Monday that the two sides had made a “decisive step” on finalising Britain’s withdrawal treaty, which should allow the unlocking of talks on a future trade deal in April.

“In the interests of business across Europe, both sides must now do everything in their power to ensure that the transition does not become a political football later in the negotiation process”. Barnier said the period would be “of a limited duration”, ending on December 31, 2020. Equally, both sides have bought time for a hypothetical FTA that can settle the more thorny and detailed issues of trade.

Time is running out for the government as Brexit is only a year away – and so far, logistics bosses say all they have seen is a talking shop and no hard plans for how Britain’s borders will work when March 31, 2019 arrives.

“Some food and drink businesses will be ready earlier than two years, but transition must not end until the bulk of the industry is ready and we have confidence in the systems on both sides of the Channel. Until the appropriate technological solutions can be found, then the option of a regulatory backstop must be left on the table”.