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Currently being asked quite frequently about timescales for reaching Free Trade Agreements. Here's the guide issued by the EU including over 30 stages starting with an impact assessment and public consultation. trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/20…
Here's more detail on what is contained in the EU-Canada agreement from @CoppetainPU, 30 chapters and several annexes. Much larger than the UK Withdrawal Agreement
@CoppetainPU There is a spectacular level of detail in the 1,598 pages of the EU-Canada agreement (trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/20…) which you may wish to peruse -e.g. the rules for animal products (SPS), tariff rates, quotas and rules of origins, exemptions to what services can be provided etc etc
@CoppetainPU The key thing - a trade agreement lays out the full set of rules governing trade between two parties. So any UK exporter to or importer from the EU could be adversely affected if you get this wrong. It takes a lot of effort for government and business to understand the detail
@CoppetainPU For the future UK-EU trade agreement neither side has yet consulted with business, NGOs, trade unions etc. Neither side has a negotiating mandate. The UK side has no consultation mechanism. We don't know what type of agreement this will be.
@CoppetainPU There is one FTA we know that was negotiated in 11 months, between the US and Australia. Australian negotiators reputedly recommended their government not sign, and there are suggestions both countries would be better off without the agreement en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia…
@CoppetainPU Even if the EU or US could manage the timescales it is thus highly inadvisable for the UK to attempt to complete negotiating a trade agreement in 2020 - without proper consultation or negotiating structure how do we know what we want to achieve? /end
@CoppetainPU PS in reply to the most frequent comment - no it doesn't help that the UK and EU start from alignment. A Free Trade Agreement is structured in a completely different way to the treaty of the EU, and it is the destination not origin we need to consider
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David Henig
@DavidHenigUK
"We want a trade deal in 11 months and as we start with complete alignment that shouldn't be a problem should it?"
"Are you prepared to continue full alignment? In which case sign here..."
"Ah steady on, we don't want to make that promise"
"So what do you actually want?"
"The UK wants full removal of EU tariffs, full access to services, and no product checks"
"And what do you offer in return?"
"We can remove the few tariffs we plan to retain"
"So you want full access to a $16 tn economy in return for removing a few tariffs to a £2.6tn economy?"
"Yes, the UK wants free trade with the EU. Free trade is good isn't it?"
"We thought you left the EU because it was a protectionist racket?"
"Didn't mean it. Promise to be good from now on"
"That's a promise not to deregulate? Sign here"
"I think you misunderstand free trade"
Read 7 tweets
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David Henig
@DavidHenigUK
Sorry Greg, but still no, existing UK-EU alignment does not help get a quick FTA, and it may even make timescales longer. Consider for a start that the entire EU-UK alignment at the moment is underpinned by ECJ, which we want to remove... 1/
Third country access to the EU market is thus agreed with a completely different legal base to that of members. I had experience of that in US-EU talks on one topic, conformity assessment, on which the two parties are still talking 5 years later. 2/
Now we could take the mutual recognition approach to conformity assessment, as per Canada, which in some sectors will give us a similar situation to today. But that doesn't cover all sectors, not for example cars. Do we want to cover cars? 3/
Read 19 tweets
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David Henig
@DavidHenigUK
I notice a new phrase around from the Conservatives - free trade not political alignment. It's that misleading 'free' word again. The truth - trade barriers rather than political alignment.
After three and a half years still the pretence we can have everything we want from the EU relationship (unfettered trade) without that we don't (sharing decision making with other countries).

Still not possible.
A Free Trade Agreement is an agreement to reduce some trade barriers. But unless it includes regulatory alignment, movement of people, full freedom to provide services - it isn't full free trade.
Read 6 tweets

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Steve Faktor
@ideafaktory
Thread on some thoughts on @ewarren's plan to demand poor countries meet labor & environmental standards to trade with the US & on @Noahpinion's critique.

1) Yes, Clinton-era free trade agreements caused a multi-decade job bleed from the US, especially in manufacturing
2) Free trade generally benefits lower cost providers. Therefore, a net positive for emerging nations.

3) There are things we could have done to phase in free trade deals, like boost investment & re-training in other industries, to limit the downsides. But hindsight is 20/20.
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Christophe Barraud🛢
@C_Barraud
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EFTA 4 UK
@EFTA4UK
1/ Dear MPs - in this thread we are genuinely trying to help. Please read/listen. The UK is indisputably having great difficulties replicating the preferential trade agreements and Free Trade Agreements that we enjoy as members of the EU. But it doesn't need to be this way.
2/ The European Free Trade Association, (which the UK helped to create) has an enviable network of FTAs with countries around the world. In those places where it doesn't have FTAs, it often has Joint Declarations on Cooperation or Mutual Recognition Agreements.
3/ EFTA has 29 FTAs covering 40 countries and territories outside the EU and is negotiating more. efta.int/free-trade
Read 9 tweets
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Christophe Barraud🛢
@C_Barraud
🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇨🇳 🇮🇷 #Canada arrests #Huawei’s global chief financial officer in Vancouver – The Globe and Mail
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A gauge of #technology shares on the MSCI #Asia Pacific Index slid as much as 3 percent before paring some losses - Bloomberg
🇺🇸 #SPX ⬇ as much as 1.9% from Tuesday’s close, before paring some losses. Selling pressure early in the session was so intense that it forced CME Group to intermittently pause trading, according to a spokesperson for the exchange - Bloomberg
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Read 736 tweets
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Penny Midas Rollo
@PennyMidasRollo
001/ [article content in this tweet series 001-180 reproduced with permission from Martin Howe QC of Lawyers for Britain @lawyers4britain]
#quote "Leaving the EU on WTO terms: pulling down the barriers to world trade
Introduction: why prices will FALL after Brexit, not rise" /002
002/ #quote "Over the past couple of weeks, the media have been full of lurid scare stories about what will happen if the UK leaves the EU on WTO terms, because negotiations with the EU do not result in a withdrawal agreement." /003
#tariffs #NoDeal #Brexit #WTO #ProjectFear #shortages #food #medicines
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Read 180 tweets
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Julie Laumann 🌎
@Otpor17
"Trump has used Harley-Davidson as an example of a US business that is being harmed by trade barriers. Yet Harley has warned consistently against tariffs, saying they would negatively impact sales"

Harley, hit by tariffs, shifts some production overseas apnews.com/6c8942f7363743…
Important issue highlighted by @riotwomennn: are tariff exemptions determined by bribes?

Corker: "22,000 companies have asked for exemptions.There is no basis to deal with them. Are they going to grant these exclusions based on political contributions?"
Trump’s trade war with the European Union is going to cost Harley-Davidson as much as $100 million a year and force the manufacturer to shift production out of the U.S. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Read 232 tweets

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