Brexit

[ruffrecords]

We used regularly get cooked Scottish mussels on the shelves here in Ireland ,
sometime back they vanished only to be replaced lately by frozen cooked Italian mussels ,
its madness in some ways , theres only a 30 mile stretch of water between Ireland and Scotland , now they have to transport a few thousand kilometers instead and Id imagine the the waters off Scotland would be much cleaner than the Mediterainian anyday .

As I may have said before, I predict the return of smuggling.

Cheers

Ian

 

[Tubetec]

Here in Ireland while we have plenty of sheltered bays inlets and coves in which shellfish thrive, water quality is the major issue , as far as I know theres only a handfull of the most remote locations still with a liscense for shelfish production . Next time I get into the city market  I might enquire about the origin and grab a kilo of the fresh locally produced ones, do them under the grill with garlic and parsley butter topped with a ciabatta crumb and served with a crisp dry white or maybe even a Prosecco 

 

[Script]

It is because the EU changed the rules about how often and where the shellfish is tested (I think by a vet). I am not sure of the details but

And I think the EU didn't change any rules concerning shellfish caught in class B waters outside the EU and that the British fishing industry simply does not have enough purification tanks. Hence the blow.
Looks like hassle-free exports to EU countries before was one of the benefits of being a member. But I also guess that the EU could have made an exception (starting in April)  wrt shellfish imports from the UK -- but latest rumours have it they won't. We will have to wait and see.

 

[Script]

Just read up on this a bit. Basically, post-Brexit, the EU considers the UK as a third country. So now, long-standing rules concerning imports into the EU also apply to the UK.

Import disruptions from the UK into the EU have also been reported for other agricultural produce, including chilled (minced) meat, raw sausages, mechanically separated poultry, processed animal protein (i.e., pet food), ungraded eggs, seed potatoes and so forth, hitting some UK agricultural industry pretty hard.

In return, the UK seems to be considering retaliation by banning the import of mineral water from the EU, for example, as leverage. Stop -- forget the last part about mineral water, it was just one example and clearly polemic on my side. Sorry for that.

Anyway, it looks like it's all part of ongoing post-Brexit negotiations... Nobody could have expected a deal to be perfect and I'm optimistic they will sort it out.

 

[letterbeacon]

Don't worry, we'll be back in the EU at some point. Being out of the EU is only something the older generations care about. As the years go on and the younger generations, who don't have this emotional relationship with 'sovereignty' from the EU, outnumber the remaining Brexit voters at the polling booths, they'll be able to look at it objectively and the UK will vote to be back in.

A lot of time and money will be wasted in the years before that happens, but at least the European will be answered and we can move on!

 

[jacomart]

...Whatever the campaigners said, most of people who voted leave did so because they were pissed off with Brussels interfering in their daily lives.

Cheers

Ian

this is equivalent to what we in Italy call "cutting off your b*lls to spite your wife" ;D
I'm afraid that unfortunately, for a long time, life will be worse for everyone.

 

[JohnRoberts]

As I may have said before, I predict the return of smuggling.

Cheers

Ian

It is interesting (perhaps or not) but the foundational text about the benefit of free trade was written by a Brit (The wealth of nations by Adam Smith).

JR

 

[Script]

And as John Nash famously said, Adam Smith needs revision. The best result is achieved not when everybody does what is best for themselves, but when everybody does what is best for everybody and for themselves ; )

 

[JohnRoberts]

And as John Nash famously said, Adam Smith needs revision. The best result is achieved not when everybody does what is best for themselves, but when everybody does what is best for everybody and for themselves ; )

Who? 

I did a search and John Nash is the Nobel prize winning mathematician (game theory) popularized by biography and movie "a beautiful mind".

"The wealth of nations" is not a policy polemic but a citation of economic history and the influence of unfettered trade on different population's outcomes as a result. Since it is mostly a citation of historical data, I'm not sure what John Nash would revise. Does he dispute the history cited by Adam Smith? 

Or are we redefining what "best result" means to modern culture? Self interest is the dominant human motivation, while life is somewhat more complex than that.

JR 

 

[Script]

Self interest is the dominant human motivation, while life is somewhat more complex than that.

Yes, this latter, I would think ; )

I am not an expert on economic history, but some of Nash's ideas apparently made it into modern economic thinking. Not sure which, as such mathematical stuff is way beyond me.
'A Beautiful Mind' -- not a bad movie by the way. Who gets the blonde is a truly memorable scene, the epiphany so to speak, where the idea of revision comes up, Nash's breakthrough in the plot. Another, also very good, if not much better, movie about a mathematician is 'The Imitation Game", with B. Cumberbatch playing Alan Turing decrypting WWII Nazi code. I highly recommend both movies.

 

[Script]

But as usual the truth is a little harder to reach. A large proportion of these transactions are undertaken by a kind of subsidiary of the LSE in Amsterdam so in fact the number of transactions orchestrated in London has increased.

Yes, there is an LSE subsidiary in Amsterdam, but it does by no means make up the pending loss in any way.

The reality is that Britain's access to EU markets is limited for the time being. At the beginning of 2021, a lot of the EU-related trading moved -- and not only to Amsterdam, but also to Paris, Frankfort, Singapore, New York, HongKong etc etc -- albeit, and hopefully, only temporarily. In fact, right now, even Burmuda has more access to EU markets than the UK, it claimed somewhere.

Why? Because the Brexit deal has absolutely nothing to say about the financial service sectors. Negotiations concerning a UK/EU deal for UK financial services are continuing (until end of March, probably longer). At the very heart of it is 'equivalence'. This means, from a European point of view, whether the UK will continue to use the MiFID II regulatory framework or not (i.e., post-Lehmann-shock regulations concerning investor protection, transparency etc etc etc). If the UK doesn't, the EU is very likely to cut London off, as they fear that Britain might otherwise try to undermine EU markets (alternative trading platforms, europound). But even if the UK does, the EU still has a strong interest in further advancing their own financial service sectors.

Either way, expecting a no-deal scenario, assets of over a trillion euros had been transferred from the UK into the EU. It's too early to tell, but in pre-Brexit times, the UK financial service sector contributed 6% to GDP and almost 10% of state tax revenue (these numbers need factchecking).

But as always, I'm optimistic they will sort it out. Maybe not Johnson himself, cos he has to answer to the North of England where he won the election. Anyway, there's also talk that London might reinvent itself yet again (similar to 1986) -- this time as a hub for green investments, fintech, cryptos and worldwide FX trading.

 

[jacomart]

But as always, I'm optimistic they will sort it out. Maybe not Johnson himself, cos he has to answer to the North of England where he won the election. Anyway, there's also talk that London might reinvent itself yet again (similar to 1986) -- this time as a hub for green investments, fintech, cryptos and worldwide FX trading.

May be worldwide except the EU I guess. I don't think that, particularly Germany and France, will want to grant this to the UK, at least as regards EU business. I’m anxious to wait but I don’t see any good things coming.
In the meantime buying things in the UK has become a very difficult business also, but not only, for delivery times and I'm very sorry! (chop off b*lls etc.....)

 

[Script]

My wife has stopped ordering from the UK, and so have some of her friends. The stuff itself (not postage) has become  too expensive, she says, and range of products is vastly reduced too. The latter most likely due to Corona. The former also only temporarily, she hopes. Meanwhile looking for alternatives.

 

[ruffrecords]

My wife has stopped ordering from the UK, and so have some of her friends. The stuff itself (not postage) has become  too expensive, she says, and range of products is vastly reduced too. The latter most likely due to Corona. The former also only temporarily, she hopes. Meanwhile looking for alternatives.

What stuff is she buying from the UK? I cannot see Brexit affecting sales to Japan especially as we just signed a trade deal with Japan. If anything your Scotch should be cheaper now 

Cheers

Ian

 

[Tubetec]

I was speaking to someone I know yesterday who trades a bit in hifi gear . He's all but ceased trading with UK sellers at this stage , Brexit had the effect of making European vendors a much more viable proposition . As far as small electronics components you can still order small packets by mail from the UK but anything carried by DHL, UPS etc over a declared value is liable for extra charges , same kinds of %'s you'd see importing from the US , it just kills all the good out of it .

 

[Script]

The stuff my wifes buys in the UK is (used) specialised books (as if we didn't have enough already) and clothes/apparel  (believe it or not, different look). Used books are still the same in price it seems, while the apparel/clothes she used to order are probably not even made in the UK.

The Japan-UK Free Trade Agreement earlier this year was indeed a big surprise -- very positive ! But is it still really the only deal the UK really got together so far? (I remember some prime minister boasting about how easy it would all be.) Anyway, basically the JP-UK agreement is a copy of the JP-EU Agreement and most likely initiated by Japan -- still very encouraging!

Scotish whiskey is indeed all over the place over here as of late. Between GBP 40 and 50 for a Glenfiddich 15. Not bad I guess, but can't really tell as I'm more of the wine and beer drinker (depending on season). But my wife's birthday is coming up and she's into the hard stuff. Thanks for bringing it up

So, yeah, Scotland to the rescue ! However, I doubt that Japan could possibly ever drink that much whisky, but we may at least try...

 

[ruffrecords]

Basic 70cl Genfiddich 15 year single malt is £43 in the UK so it looks like you get it close to the price we do.

The japan trade agreement does replace the EU one but with some differences I believe. The secretary of state for international trade,  Elizabeth Truss, has been very active negotiating trade agreements well before Brexit actually actually occurred. So far she has closed 61 such deals and next year hopes to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Cheers

Ian

 

[Script]

61 deals and more pending ? Good.

GBP43 in the UK ? Well, then we do get it at a somewhat reasonable price iI guess. But TBH, I'm looking forward to more British beer Now all we need is to get this stupid pandemic under control for it all to take off -- I see good progess in the particularly badly-hit UK.

(Meanwhile, wife ordered apparel from a French company. It's all made in China anyway, but can't order from there.)

Skol, cheers and kampai.

 

[rob_gould]

Ummm...

Professor Winters said that “to all intents and purposes in terms of tariffs, there is almost no difference between the UK-Japan and EU-Japan free trade agreements”.

“The UK government have exerted immense effort but, in terms of tariffs, have got back to more or less exactly where we started from under EU membership,” he said

I'm sure the other 60 agreements won't be anything like that though eh.

Source : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-japan-trade-deal-liz-truss-exports-b1619263.html

In other news, the penny seems to be dropping for the 'red wall' regions of the UK as the government fails to keep promises to match EU funding levels for deprived regions of the UK...

“This couldn’t have come at a worse time for us as a North East,” said Carl Marshall, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for economic regeneration, who insisted a priority for the EU funding replacement would be local control over spending.

“The North East would have been set to receive more funding had we remained in the EU and would have been able to continue to invest in skills, in jobs, in projects across the region.

“The Government has promised previously that the North east wouldn’t get any less under the SPF arrangements, but we’re yet to see any real detail or commitment to following through on that promise.”

Source : https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/brexit-backing-sunderland-says-it-is-not-receiving-same-level-of-funding-outside-eu-222122/

 

[jacomart]

Ummm...

I'm sure the other 60 agreements won't be anything like that though eh.

Source : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-japan-trade-deal-liz-truss-exports-b1619263.html

In other news, the penny seems to be dropping for the 'red wall' regions of the UK as the government fails to keep promises to match EU funding levels for deprived regions of the UK...

Source : https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/brexit-backing-sunderland-says-it-is-not-receiving-same-level-of-funding-outside-eu-222122/

the British self-determined, long live the British! the European union is far from perfection, however the "remains", for me, would have been the only option.