Brexit Negotiations make the News!

The ABC reported on the slow progress made in Brexit negotiations. Saying that the UK only wanted to talk about Britain's relationship after Brexit whereas the EU wanted to get three things sorted first:

1. The position of EU citizens.
2. The Brexit exit fee
3. The Irish Border

The European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said he is concerned at the slow progress of Brexit talks as his British counterpart David Davis called for "imagination and flexibility" to move forward.

On Monday, British officials arrived in Brussels hoping to push the EU towards talks about their post-Brexit ties, which the bloc refuses to launch until there is agreement on London's exit bill and other "divorce" matters.

"To be honest, I am concerned. Time passes quickly," Mr Barnier said in short comments offered jointly by the two men to the media.

Just as a matter of interest is this the way it is reported in the UK?

Re: Brexit Negotiations make the News!

Hi

Broadly speaking, yes it is Bruce.

We have very tribal media here in the UK, very few unbiased sources, so gleaning what is really going on is difficult.

To be honest the most impartial news is sourced from abroad, outside both the UK and the EU.

These are analysts and commentators who are watching and who have no axe to grind.

The money markets and Countries who invest here in particular.

It is they who will determine the success or failure of Brexit, not the UK.

Brexit negotiations are best compared to a five set tennis match.

The International view is that the EU have won the first set, hence the rise in our borrowing costs.

We are now starting the second set.

Two very important things going on this week, the first are the direct talks in Brussels and the second, more important thing, which strangely is not being widely reported, is our Prime Ministers visit to Japan.

We were hoping for an early comprehensive trade deal with Japan, Japan has however just finalised a Free Trade Deal with the EU and much of our industry is Japanese owned.

The EU Trade deal with Japan is much more important to Japan than any deal with the UK simply because the EU is a much bigger market for them.

Many Japanese firms are here simply because we are in the EU and now that we are leaving and Japan has it's Free Trade deal with the EU they are waiting to see what happens with the Brexit talks.

If we do walk away without a deal they can avoid Tariffs, and therefore make more profits by moving production out of the UK.

Interesting times for Mrs May when she meets the Japanese PM.

Re: Brexit Negotiations make the News!

Don't hold your breath.

Negotiations towards a Free Trade Agreement with Japan began in 2007 and an agreement on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) was announced on April 7, 2014 and signed on 8 July 2014 in Canberra.

The sticking point for this agreement was beef, Japan had a 35% tariff on imported beef and Australia would not sign anything unless this was reduced or removed. In the end the agreement reduced the tariff by 8% immediately but over 18 years it will halve.

Free Trade (or as them seem to be called now "Fair Trade") Agreements take years. The negotiations with the EU took two years before there was agreement just to negotiate. Then we upset Italy by putting an import ban on their dodgy tinned tomatoes, this was followed by Brexit which made the EU far less interesting to us, so here we are four years down the track with any agreement on hold or at least proceeding very slowly.

I can understand why the EU wants to get on with the exit proceedings they realise a trade agreement could take many years and there is less than two before you leave.

Re: Brexit Negotiations make the News!

That applies to many companies based here. There was a discussion about how US investment banks are here purely because we give access to the EU. So they are making contingency plans to relocate when we leave, unless we come up with an acceptable compromise in the talks.

Re: Brexit Negotiations make the News!

I don't see NI as anything to do with Eu but it does seem to prove they are trying to rule us rather than we are partners.

There is no exit fee according to many that seem to know the law once we are out that's it we are out. It's not a divorce or a club we have to pay to leave.

But it's late for them to want to sort out people outside their own countries we in the form of tm tried to sort that out prior to all the rubbish, the Eu refused to do that.

Re: Brexit Negotiations make the News!

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/m/5c3a3f2b...-the-hard.html

Re: Brexit Negotiations make the News!

Did you mean to link to this article?

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/artic...ine&yptr=yahoo

Re: Brexit Negotiations make the News!

Thanks Annie. I don't know what happened but yes it was the Bloomberg one, so thank you.

Re: Brexit Negotiations make the News!

Hi

I agree about the Northern Ireland Border, however Ireland are insisting that it is dealt with.

As regards the exit Bill, it matters nothing what we think, what matters is the International Money Markets and if they consider that we have reneged up go our Interest Rates and down goes our capacity to borrow.

Re: Brexit Negotiations make the News!

I'm sure most of what's talked about is rubbish, if not it's a shameful lot we have negotiating on both sides if they are leaking so badly.