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Peter Ungphakorn @CoppetainPU
, 3 tweets, 1 min read Read on Twitter
Mid-winter. The last week before the WTO shuts down for the New Year break.

Boy has it been hot.

The US was at the "epicentre" of blunt comments in its latest trade policy review Dec 17&19, and was accused of trying to turn it into a review of China.

….agribusinessintelligence.informa.com/PL218734/US-EU…
In between those two days, the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body met with more heat.

Both stories via @Agra_Europe (requires subscription but free trial available)

….agribusinessintelligence.informa.com/PL218721/WTO-s…
2019 is going to be an interesting year for world trade diplomacy
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Some Brexiters (by no means all) apparently see “no deal” increasingly as a “viable” option, particularly no deal on March 29.

Those who argue in favour, need to address in detail the weight of evidence that it would be seriously harmful for many.

huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/increasi…

1/17
Remember:

1. Arguing against “no deal” is not arguing against Brexit. (It’s sad that this has to be repeated.)

2. “No deal” on March 29, is far worse than a gradual transition to “no deal” over a number of years. And it can’t be a “managed no deal” unless there’s a deal.

2/17
3. Even “no deal” on March 29 won’t mean the end of the world (a phrase used repeatedly), but for many it could mean the end of their present livelihoods.

If it’s a “viable” option, define “viable”.

And for whom?

3/17
Read 18 tweets
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The "transitional arrangement" @bbaschuk refers to is, for now, the proposed Withdrawal Agreement (WA). It has provisions (129.1) specifically dealing with issues such as the WTO's Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

What needs to be sorted out?

1/10

gov.uk/government/pub…
With the WA, the time to sort out the GPA is extended under the WA's transition period. Without the WA and no consensus in the WTO's Government Procurement Committee (the GPA signatories), UK preferential access is lost.

2/10

Source (paywalled): ….agribusinessintelligence.informa.com/PL218600/New-s… Screenshot of paragraphs in the linked paywalled article quoting a WTO news story in which the UK and EU say the UK will be treated as an EU member until the end of the transition, and Article 129.1 plus footnote of the draft Withdrawal Agreement
The problem isn't the UK's offer (already accepted in principle) but legalese & procedure in the committee's draft decision

@bbaschuk shared a leaked US amendment to the EU's draft committee decision.

It is revealing. This first part is unamended.

3/10

drive.google.com/file/d/1pW-3P0… Screenshot of the top of page 2 of the US proposed draft decision, down to
Read 10 tweets
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This is nonsense.

No one does deals to "escape" the WTO. They remain WTO members, bound by the agreements they made in the WTO.

They get some better terms through free trade deals, but the WTO agreements remain the shell. Those free trade agreements reside within the WTO shell
One of the needs of Brexit (whatever the outcome) is to understand the implications for trade, including the WTO and its agreements.

It doesn't help if influential people like @mikegalsworthy & @Scientists4EU can't be bothered to find out what the WTO really is.

Pointers

1/3
Here's somewhere to start: tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2017/12/17/wto…

2/3
Read 4 tweets

Related threads

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1/ Hi. Your Friendly Neighborhood Trade Nerd here,

Many on both sides of the trade debate invoke the specter of WTO breaches, but few go on to explain the practicalities and consequences.

Hopefully this threat helps you put threats of the WTO's wrath in some real-world context.
*** Warning: This thread is super long. I try to make it interesting by telling it like a story, but we're discussing WTO Procedures and not the Battle of Stalingrad so you know, feel free to take a snack break. ***
2/ For this walk-through, I'm going to be using two hypotheticals:

One - As part of Brexit, the UK decides not to collect customs on the NI border;
Two - This decision is a breach of the WTO's Most Favoured Nation Principle (my definition here: explaintrade.com/glossary/#Most…)
Read 21 tweets
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Last week, after @UKLabour failed to throw out its new code of practice on antisemitism, rumours swelled that #JC9 candidate @PeterWillsman had said some very intemperate things about those who had raised genuine concerns. There is now audio... thejc.com/news/uk-news/b…
Such quotes in the originally reported included “What the rabbis have said about antisemitism in the Labour Party is simply false”... “In 50 years I have never seen any antisemitism in the Labour Party”...
Another quote suggested he said: “Some of these people in the Jewish community are Trump fanatics, so I’ll take no lectures from them.”...
Read 23 tweets
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Buckle up for #AlexDrunkHistory: the Tour de Nesle Affair or, how epic pettiness and regifted handbags sank a 350 year old French dynasty and set up the Hundred Years War. First: meet Isabella, queen of England, daughter of France, wannabe Etsy store owner!
Depending on who you read, Isabella was either a total badass (invading England with her lover and 800 troops, AND WINNING) *or* a petty, calculating bitch. My opinion?
(for my money, tho, Empress Matilda was the biggest female badass in medieval England; she even ruled in her own name during the Anarchy, albeit briefly. We’ll talk about her another time.)
Read 37 tweets
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1. A thread on #trade and aid.

One of the first tangible benefits of #Brexit I've seen is the emerging reform of @DFID_UK where it is becoming more of an arm of trade policy than a state owned humanitarian NGO. I would like that to go much further and rethink trade.
2. I do not think we should be wasting too much effort on free trade deals largely because they are of questionable value and encourage inefficient value chains. Any work on tariffs should really be reserved for multilateral activity.
3. Instead we need DfID as the spearhead of our trade policy. There is no reason why we cannot pursue humanitarian goals and enhance our trade while we are at it. For a start we can do a lot with medicines and pharmacy products.
Read 21 tweets
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Trump Hotels' website still lists Trump SoHo New York among its properties in the Our Hotels menu. Select its name though to access its page and there's a message about it being renamed

bit.ly/2EPCSy1
National politics correspondent for Newsweek, Nina Burleigh, with a fun find on a TV above the bar at the Trump Hotel DC bit.ly/2E37QRR
Two errors in the 2nd graf of Breitbart's Trump Hotel DC article:
-holdings aren't out of @realDonaldTrump's hands: trust isn't blind & he can profit from it
-Trump Org told Congress it was estimating foreign receipts—not auto donating in full
bit.ly/2CpL7z2
Read 1562 tweets

Trending hashtags

#G7 #ChuckChequers #EMA #licensing #TrumpLies #TBT #product #farmers #tratovip #science #importation #Francophonie #food #SDGs #employment #correction #Trump #NSPN2018 #SOTU #2975DeadInPR #EBDM #quote #Trade #scienceadvice #KORUS

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