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Faisal Islam Profile picture
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20 Jan, 15 tweets, 4 min read
Quite something that Trump really won’t welcome his successor into the White House nor mention him by name...

Though this speech could yet go on for some time...
Trump praises himself for beating Obama’s vote total in 2012, and setting a record for a sitting President.
Say “Biden”!!!
Not yet...

But he does say “we’ll be back in some form”...

“Have a good life.. we will see you soon”... and the Village People’s YMCA kicks in...
Trump also claimed the Covid numbers will “skyrocket downwards”... 🚀 and downplayed the economic problems and again rising unemployment numbers as he leaves office...
Crazy to think there was only one single UK PM visit to Trump’s White House - almost exactly 4 years ago, when May got first visit, and then ban on some Muslim majority nations announced around same time... some pics from that visit - Bannon/ kushner/ flynn/ darroch
Decent chance one would think that Johnson gets to see Biden soonish - particularly in terms of the G7 and COP chairmanship - will be very interesting to see at that point how hard PM pushes mini trade deal or FTA negotiations, trade deals in general not a Biden WH priority.
Story I did yesterday about the ultimate failure to do a UK-US mini deal over whisky tariffs/ Airbus/ boeing in last weeks of Trump administration... close, but no cigar. bbc.com/news/business-…
Well it certainly sounded like God save the queen - in case for a moment anyone thought we had reneged on the Treaty of Paris - it was same tune, very different words!
“End this uncivil war...” so “we can face this pandemic as one nation” the key line from President Biden...
President says the US faces an attack on democracy and an attack on truth aswell as a raging virus and urges people to “stop the shouting”.... big tech giants will be shuffling uncomfortably...
“End this uncivil war” sounded more like an order than a request...
Such a beautiful song #AmazingGrace
For those deeply interested, as the PM once was as regards President Obama... the Churchill bust doesn’t appear in the place in the Oval where Trump had originally put it .... a different bust is there now... bottom right corner of the bottom right corner
Here’s pic of the photo op in the Oval Trump did with PM May in front of Churchill bust when a rather large deal made back in 2017
Seems to be bust of Robert F Kennedy now on the right of the fireplace (MLK on left) in the Oval Office where at least originally President Trump put the Churchill one - as connoisseurs of this tale are aware there are two busts that are similar and it gets a bit complicated...

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More from @faisalislam

Faisal Islam Profile picture
22 Jan
Much needed good news from colleague @BBCSimonJack iv with Nissan COO Gupta... tariff free deal means they commit to long term future for Sunderland - & will move battery production for one Leaf model that doesn’t meet electric car rules of origin threshold, to UK, so it does
Vital last gasp negotiation between PM and VDL on this very issue at the last moment before deal was struck - up until then was genuine risk of some tariffs even in a deal - industry now needs significant backing on battery capacity for future, esp given combustion engine bans...
Some quite interesting comments to simon though on essentially anticipation of Nissan winning domestic market share at expense of EU imports... Raises wider questions about whether Govt chooses to lean into some import substitution strategies given extra non tariff barriers...
Read 4 tweets
Faisal Islam Profile picture
20 Jan
interesting - minutes from EU health security committee, still attended by the UK, from time new variant exploded - UK told EU Early Warning and Response System about it on 14th December. A week later, a day after tier 4 extension UK invited to explain all here...:
In return ... 20 mainly EU nations respond at the Committee detailing varying degrees of travel ban imposed on UK at that time...
Eg above Ireland said that the restrictions should be strengthened and “should be uniform around the EU”...

European Commission “DG Move” immediately raised issue of moving PCR testing away from borders to avoid “severe disruptions” and keep trade moving...
Read 5 tweets
Faisal Islam Profile picture
19 Jan
NEW:
Government/ industry sources confirm US-UK “mini deal” negotiations, revealed by US Trade Rep Lighthizer to BBC last month, failed to progress last week, after concerns about Airbus backing. Means Scottish whisky/cashmere tariffs continue...will be picked up with Biden admin
UK Govt source: “Ultimately we came close to resolving an intractable 16 year dispute[airbus-boeing], but didn’t quite get there. Any deal must be balanced and work for the whole UK and all of UK industry... understand pain of affected industry”... (ie whisky etc)
Net result is that Scotch whisky/ cashmere tariffs remain in place at least for a couple of months while new Biden Trade Rep Tai is confirmed, but then it’s a matter for their policy.
Lowering UK bourbon tariffs in separate steel dispute also in the mix here
Read 10 tweets
Faisal Islam Profile picture
15 Jan
Extraordinary Scottish fisherman’s Federation letter - body most often quoted by ministers/ best access to Govt/ backers of Brexit approach now saying Govt has left it in “worst of both worlds...many in seafood supply chain fear they will not survive..” sff.co.uk/letter-to-prim…
SFF letter to PM: “You and your Government have spun a line about a 25% uplift in quota for the UK, but you know this is not true, and your deal does not deliver that...”
This was organisation that coined phrase “sea of opportunity” to describe post Brexit fishing opps, then enthusiastically taken up by Government ...

now telling PM claims on quota uplift “not true” and means “failure” to deliver promises, anger and now “chaos” for exporters
Read 4 tweets
Faisal Islam Profile picture
14 Jan
Mixed loads fish exports (groupage) now further delayed.
exporting now a process requiring 26 key steps, rather than 1 page form...teething issue perhaps for eg single loads salmon, but this level of non tariff barrier permanent structural issue for others bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla…
The structural issue is this - the UK chose GB to be a third country, with less agrifood alignment than eg NZ, and the EU’s strict import procedures for third countries are designed for niche exotic stuff mainly, not the mass import of perishable goods...
The negotiation clearly prioritised freedom [from the EU] over freeflow [of goods to it]..but Govt downplays latter, eg PM stating “there will be no non tariff barriers” and below on a visit to fishing communities ahead of GE19 “we don’t have unnecessary form filling”...
Read 11 tweets
Faisal Islam Profile picture
11 Jan
Dutch customs on Dutch TV taking away drivers’ ham sandwiches on ferry from UK arriving at Hook of Holland, also put seized food shopping (Waitrose?) on facebook - this is a standard implication of Brexit deal, long indicated in prep documents both in UK and EU...
The interesting thing here will be how this new prohibition (without correct documentation) on free flow of even personal food exports from UK to EU (and eventually vice versa) will be applied on short straits at Coquelles? Calais? UK side juxtaposed controls? Not at all?
Dutch incredibly organised on full implications of Brexit for their customs - three years’ ago Dutch customs developed online portal explaining full implications of non-tariff barriers, advised small businesses not to use GB parts (rules of origin) etc

Read 9 tweets

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