Finance & Trade

UK Reaches Trade Deals with Iceland, Norway

April 22, 2019

Reuters reports that the UK government has reached an agreement with Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, to apply current rules to British trade in case of a no-deal Brexit.
EU Council Approves No-Deal Brexit Contingency Measures

April 22, 2019

The Council of the EU has approved legislation preparing for a potential “no-deal” Brexit scenario by, among other policies, providing for social-security rights of EU and UK citizens and uninterrupted transport between Britain and the Continent in case the UK leaves without a broad withdrawal agreement.
EU Institutions Agree Future Funding for Climate Action

April 22, 2019

The European Parliament and Council of the EU have reached a provisional agreement on funding for the EU’s “Environment and Climate Action” program for 2021 to 2027, as the bloc expands its investments in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Paris climate plan in a bid to become “climate neutral” by the year 2050.
UK Official Opposes Post-Brexit EU Customs Deal

April 10, 2019

The Independent reports that, according to a letter from UK Secretary of International Trade Liam Fox, agreeing to remain in a customs union with the EU would leave Britain “stuck in the worst of both worlds,” with drastically reduced influence in Brussels and no say over its own trade policy.
NGOs Oppose EU Fossil-Fuel Funding in Developing Regions

April 03, 2019

A group of nongovernmental organizations has called on EU lawmakers to exclude from the bloc’s future Cohesion Policy - development funds targeting European regions that struggle economically - investments in fossil fuel infrastructure, arguing such funding will sink the EU’s commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
EU Countries Reject Money-Laundering “Blacklist”

March 08, 2019

EU member states have unanimously rejected a proposed “blacklist” imposing enhanced monitoring requirements on EU banks operating in certain non-EU countries and US territories accused of lax money-laundering enforcement, as national officials asserted the list “was not established in a transparent and resilient process.”
UK Confirms Continuity of UK-EU Air Travel After Brexit

March 08, 2019

The UK Department of Transport has issued a press release confirming that, based on UK government measures and a soon-to-be-finalized EU aviation regulation, a no-deal Brexit scenario will not affect flights between the UK and EU.
EU Governments Object to Money Laundering “Blacklist”

March 07, 2019

Politico reports that EU member states are set to block a “blacklist” requiring European banks to perform “enhanced due diligence” of their transactions in identified countries with allegedly lax treatment of money laundering, as the EU governments question the efficacy of the process through which the countries on the blacklist were chosen.
BoE Chief Revises Forecast of No-Deal Brexit Impacts

March 07, 2019

Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney has announced that the BoE has revised its forecasts of the negative economic impacts of a no-deal Brexit, testifying before a House of Lords committee that UK and EU preparations for such a scenario have likely reduced the severity of its influence on economic growth.
News Report Suggests Massive Tariff Reduction in No-Deal Brexit

March 07, 2019

Sky News reports that the UK Department for International Trade is prepared to roll back tariffs on 80 to 90 percent of goods imported to Britain in the case of a no-deal Brexit, leaving in place duties only on a narrow set of goods such as cars and various kinds of agricultural and textile products.