Finance & Trade

MPs Propose Brexit Compromise to Avoid Irish Border “Backstop”

January 31, 2019

Politico reports that Members of Parliament (MPs) from the governing UK Conservative Party representing a broad range of views on Brexit have agreed a common position on a replacement to the Irish backstop provision in the Brexit withdrawal deal that would focus on installing free trade arrangements to avoid a “hard border” in Ireland.
EC Official Suggests Alternative Options on Irish Border

January 31, 2019

The Guardian reports that chief European Commission (EC) negotiator on Brexit Michel Barnier has cast doubt on the EU’s support of an extension of the Brexit negotiating period if the UK and EU fail to reach a deal and stated that the EU would not seek to reimpose a “hard border” in Ireland in case of no deal.
Irish Leaders Express Concern About Post-Brexit Isolation

January 31, 2019

The Irish Examiner reports that Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has warned the EU may carry out border checks for Irish goods at ports of entry on the European continent, and treat Ireland and the UK as one bloc, rather than risk a “hard border” between Ireland and Northern Ireland in the case of no Brexit deal between the EU and UK.
UK Government Remains Opposed to Customs Union with EU

January 17, 2019

The Guardian reports that a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Theresa May has stated that the government’s Brexit policy still rules out remaining in a customs union with the EU, as such an arrangement would prevent Britain from striking trade deals with countries beyond the bloc.
EU Agency Seeks Bolstering of Crypto-assets Regulation

January 16, 2019

The European Securities and Markets Authority has published advice asserting that the reach of the bloc’s current financial regulatory framework does not reach certain “crypto-assets” and that EU institutions are best-placed to plug the gaps in the regulation of such assets on an EU-wide basis.
Lawyer Points to Enhanced Equivalence as Brexit Alternative

January 16, 2019

Barnabas Reynolds of the law firm Shearman & Sterling argues that a system of enhanced equivalence agreed between the UK and EU would offer both sides the benefits of continued frictionless trade in the services sector and would be a viable way forward after Parliament’s defeat of Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal deal.
MPs Outline Alternative EU-UK Brexit Path

January 15, 2019

A group of 23 Conservative Members of the UK Parliament published a press release upon the House of Commons’ rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal outlining how the government could proceed with negotiations, by offering the EU a free trade deal and preparing to leave the bloc without a withdrawal agreement at the end of March.
EU Bans “Unfair” Supermarket Trading Practices

January 11, 2019

The activist organization Oxfam has applauded new EU rules prohibiting supermarkets from using “unfair trading practices,” such as unilateral changes to orders and to supply agreements, in their dealings with food suppliers inside and outside the EU.
UK, Switzerland Agree Post-Brexit Trade Deal

January 09, 2019

The UK government and the Swiss Federal Council have agreed, subject to approval by the countries’ parliaments, to implement a transitional free-trade agreement after Brexit that largely replicates the current trade arrangements between the two countries.
EU Official: “No-Deal Brexit” Would Require Germany to Plug Budget Hole

January 08, 2019

Deutsche Welle reports that European Commissioner for the budget Günther Oettinger has warned that Britain’s and the EU’s failure to approve a withdrawal deal would require the German government to pay hundreds of millions of euros extra into the EU budget to cover the funding gap produced by Brexit.