BIFAlink


Policy & Compliance


www.bifa.org


largest trading partners, further compounding the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19. And while Boris Johnson is sanguine about


Britain’s prospects should the country crash out of the EU with a deal, it is clear his counterparts in business are not and would prefer some kind of agreement with Europe, if not the US. The slow progress is yet more proof the British


Oven-ready trade deals looking unlikely


The UK is looking increasingly likely to leave the EU at the end of December without a trade deal with either of its major trading partners


What happened? Following a visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Conservative government announced it did not anticipate concluding a free-trade deal with the US despite promises to have a deal in place by the New Year. The downgrading of expectations on US-UK trade came as UK negotiators failed to unlock their parallel negotiations with the European Union following another round of talks. UK Trade Secretary Liz Truss re-affirmed that Britain would not be putting any part of the NHS


Support your local Member group


BIFA utilises a network of Regional Consultants around the UK to act as a conduit for the dissemination of information and to seek local Member views on topics of interest. In light of current restrictions due to the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic, regional activity has moved online. Forthcoming virtual meetings are listed here. All BIFA Members are entitled and


encouraged to attend their regional meetings, although pre-booking with the named contact is essential. Full contact details are shown on


up for sale as a condition of free trade with the Americans, an accusation levelled by the opposition Labour Party during last year’s general election. For his part, lead EU negotiator David Frost said he was still optimistic a deal could be agreed by September should the two sides be willing to move.


What does it mean? The lack of progress in both series of trade talks means the UK is on track to leave the European Union without a free trade deal with its two


Region Stansted


Regional Members’ meeting Gatwick


Regional Members’ meeting Solent


Regional Members’ meeting London East


Regional Members’ meeting Anglia


Regional Members’ meeting Heathrow


Regional Members’ meeting Date Time Tue 8 Sep 1130 Thu 10 Sep 1230 Tue 15 Sep 0800 Tue 22 Sep 1400 Thu 24 Sep 1000 Thu 24 Sep 1400


people were sold a false bill of goods during the December 2019 general election when ministers and MPs travelled the country touting their ‘oven-ready’ Brexit deal. The sight of lorry parks emerging across the Kent countryside will add further discomfort to those who thought leaving the EU would be a snap. As perverse as it might sound, the massive


economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic is likely to help the Johnson government downplay a hard Brexit. After all, what is a further 5% hit to GDP when the virus has already taken many multiples of that away already? Alas, British goods will need new markets if the


economy is going to recover. The idea that Britain could magically conjure up a trade negotiation capability after years of outsourcing it to the EU and then use it to negotiate agreements with the EU, US, Japan, Australia and others at the same time was always a stretch. The one benefit of downgrading the US talks is the UK can now focus more of its efforts on the EU, which should have always remained the sole priority for this calendar year. Despite the bluster and bravado, Boris Johnson knows he needs a deal with the EU to start the great British comeback.


This article first appeared in Under the Radar – A dive into the news you might have missed, published by Trafalgar Strategy, 24 July 2020. It is reproduced here with its kind permission.


Venue Zoom


videoconference Zoom


videoconference Zoom


videoconference Zoom


videoconference Zoom


videoconference Zoom


videoconference See www.bifa.org/events > Regional Events for future events. Contact Mike Jones Mike Jones Mike Jones Paul Newman Paul Newman Mike Jones


8


September 2020


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20