According to the Brexit agreement, the Brexit transition period will end at the end of this year.
With only one week left before the deadline for the Brexit transition period, Britain and the European Union finally reached an agreement on post-Brexit trade.
The negotiations are full of twists and turns.
The “Brexit” negotiations were tortuous and protracted, and it was not until after the last minute that an agreement was barely reached, so that the United Kingdom failed to “Brexit” as scheduled, and dragged on January 31 this year. According to the “Brexit” agreement, the “Brexit” transition period of the UK will end at the end of this year.
Teams from London to Brussels and from Brussels to London, round after round of rhetoric, but no agreement could be reached.
There are mainly three major issues: fishing in British waters, market access and standards for future British-European trade, and the mode and location of arbitration for future British-European trade disputes.
As far as the disputed fisheries between the two sides is concerned, this involves not only the economic interests of fishing, but also the sovereignty of Britain and the emotions of its citizens.
Proponents of Brexit regard British controlled fishing as a symbol of sovereignty and demand that the British government take advantage of Brexit to regain this sovereignty.
The British Johnson administration even said that any new agreement on fisheries must be based on the understanding that “British fisheries are first and foremost British vessels”.
The EU is also tough, especially France. French President Macron stressed that this involves the income and employment of a large number of French fishermen. If the EU compromises, France will vote against it.
The European Union also pointed out that about 70% of the current fishing share in British waters has been transferred by British fisheries to fleets such as France, while the United Kingdom mainly benefits from selling various fish products to the EU.
If Britain insists on reclaiming its fishing rights in waters, British fish products will have unlimited access to the EU market in the future.
Wang Shuo, deputy director and researcher of the European Institute of the China Institute of Modern International Relations, believes: “At present, Britain and the European Union are ostensibly arguing over technical issues, but in fact they reflect the opposing demands of the two sides.
Britain wants to take the initiative on controversial issues and regain sovereignty more, but the EU involves the actual interests of 27 member states and many complex factors, as well as the future stability and foreign trade relations within the EU, so it will not give in easily or dare to compromise.”
At present, Britain’s economic and trade relations with the European Union are still continuing the pre-Brexit pattern.
If the transition period before the end of this year is over and the two sides do not reach an agreement, the UK will have to “hard Brexit”, which directly involves a series of major issues such as the entry of British goods and services trade into the EU’s unified market market, market quotas, market standards and tariffs.
“Hard Brexit” can’t bear
Britain’s forced “Brexit” has caused worries and chaos at home and in the EU. If Britain “hard Brexit” will cause more chaos.
It is estimated that more than 330 British companies will move their headquarters and main business from the UK to the EU, including 72 financial services companies.
London will lose its competitive advantage as 7,500 staff members of London financial institutions will transfer to Paris, Dublin and Frankfurt. British residents will also perceive the serious consequences: food from the EU will be subject to tariffs, which means higher prices.
British food imports from Europe account for 26% of the total British imports. Food alone will cost every British family an additional £600 a year.
The EU will impose tariffs on imports from the United Kingdom, such as 2.8% on non-agricultural products, 10% on automobile products and up to 35% on dairy products.
This will greatly raise the price of British goods, especially food, in the European market, forcing them to automatically exit the EU market.
The 27 EU countries are a huge internal circulation market, and it is not easy for non-EU countries to squeeze into the EU market. Even if the United States repeatedly threatens the EU, it is difficult for American products, especially agricultural products, to enter the EU.
In addition, after the UK left the EU, border inspection alone was a major problem. According to media estimates, if the UK and the EU fail to reach an agreement, in the future, as a pure “non-EU member state”, even if EU countries are allowed to enter the British market, trucks will queue up.
Drivers will have to wait and inspect for a long time to enter British territory, and at least tens of thousands of trucks will be in Dover every day.
To be cleared. This trouble alone may cause food shortages and rising prices in the British market.
Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Relations of Renmin University of China and director of the Institute of International Affairs, pointed out: “The UK is currently in the worst recession in 300 years.
The cost of ‘hard Brexit’ is beyond Britain’able, and the UK will continue to put pressure on the Johnson administration at home.”
Both sides expressed satisfaction.
The European Union and the United Kingdom reached a post-Brexit trade agreement at the last minute, ending months of disagreement over fishing rights and future commercial competition rules.
The 2,000-page trade agreement covers a wide range of terms from civil nuclear energy cooperation to fisheries and aviation.
According to the German News Agency, the agreement promised that the UK could export goods to the intra-EU market without tariffs or quantitative restrictions.
The EU will also be awarded fair terms of competition, which means the same environmental, social and subsidy standards. The entry of EU fishermen into British waters to fish was a difficult point in the negotiations, and the two sides did not reach an agreement until noon on December 24.
After the agreement was reached, Johnson tweeted a picture of himself smiling and giving a thumbs up. European Commission President von der Leyen said it was time to turn the page and look ahead, saying it was time to “turn over this page and look forward to the future”.
She stressed that Britain and Europe are “long-term allies”. Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator on “Brexit” matters, said that the agreement was a relief. The Irish Prime Minister welcomed the agreement, calling it a version that minimizes the damage to Brexit.
“We have completed ‘Brexit’ and now we can take advantage of the great opportunity that an independent trading country can offer us to conclude trade agreements with other partners around the world,” the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement on 24 December.
According to the announcement issued by the European Commission, the core of the agreement is a “European-British Free Trade Agreement”, covering European and British trade in goods and services, investment, competition, prohibition of state aid, taxation, transportation, energy, fisheries and even data protection, social security coordination and other aspects.
Von der Leyen also praised the agreement.” It’s a long and tortuous road, but we’ve made a good deal,” von der Leyen said in a press conference.
“[Agreement] is fair, just, and for both of us, it’s something we should do and be responsible.”
