I have a fairly simple rule for thinking about whether one side of a trade negotiation is ready - is their position strong enough that it can be defended in the inevitable public debate. Neither UK or EU is ready, but the EU is probably ahead (from Sunday Times @ShippersUnbound) 
@ShippersUnbound Both sides have high level principles for how the negotiation will be approached. But fleshing out the detail with all your stakeholders while testing the principles of the other side is a time consuming business if there's an intention of getting the best deal.
@ShippersUnbound And even the UK's principles are pretty shaky right now as Dominic Lawson (not a columnist I usually cite) highlights in the Sunday Times. Are we protectionist UK or global UK? What does it mean to diverge on regulations? These questions aren't easily answered.
@ShippersUnbound Is the tearing rush necessary? "[we] need to see... an understanding of the real economy and the way that it could be affected by UK trade policy. This could take some time to achieve, with some false starts on the way" as I wrote last week. uktradeforum.net/2020/01/09/tak…
@ShippersUnbound Also a Cabinet Minister saying "In a battle between alignment and autonomy, autonomy will always win" demonstrates a total lack of knowledge about regulations and global trade and is thus pretty useless as a principle. Obviously it is about finding the balance.
