Brexit bill to block further delay to transition

[nitpicker]

https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50818134

Brexit bill to block further delay to transition

1 hour ago

The government is to add a new clause to the Brexit bill to make it illegal for Parliament to extend the process beyond the end of next year.

The post-Brexit transition period - due to conclude in December 2020 - can currently be extended by mutual agreement for up to two years.

But an amended Withdrawal Agreement Bill the Commons is set to vote on this week would rule out any extension.

Critics say this raises the chance of leaving the EU without a trade deal.

But senior Cabinet Minister Michael Gove insisted both the UK and the EU had "committed themselves to making sure that we have a deal" by the end of 2020.

He also promised Parliament would be able to scrutinise the Withdrawal Agreement Bill "in depth".

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the move was "reckless and irresponsible" and he argued that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was "prepared to put people's jobs at risk".

Downing Street has said the government plans to ask the new Parliament to have its first debate and vote on the withdrawal agreement - the legislation needed to ratify Brexit - on Friday.
(snip)

[Ghost Dog]

1. So Anglosphere and Commonwealth take priority over EU on trade

... As to this fabulous agreement, it will be "a new relationship based on free trade and friendly cooperation, not on the EU's treaties or EU law". Furthermore, "there will be no political alignment with the EU". It will "keep the UK out of the single market, out of any form of customs union, and end the role of the European Court of Justice".

Just so that there is no misunderstanding, the Manifesto goes on to list the attributes of this future relationship. It will, we are told, allow us to take back control of our laws and our money and control our own trade policy. We are also to have an Australian-style points-based immigration system. A new Conservative government would also raise standards in areas like workers' rights, animal welfare, agriculture and the environment. And it would ensure we are in full control of our fishing waters.

But then comes the key part. "We will negotiate a trade agreement next year", the Manifesto says, "one that will strengthen our Union". Crucially, it then tells us, in bold, "we will not extend the implementation period beyond December 2020"... The thing is that there are no "new post-Brexit freedoms" that come to us on 31 January, the date Brexit is supposed to be "done". We move immediately to the transition period where we are still bound by the full range of the EU treaties, the only difference being that we no longer have any representation in the Commission, the Council or the European Parliament... The thing is, though, that we know that a trade deal is possible by the end of December 2020, as long as Johnson elects for a "quick and dirty" agreement. And there is nothing in the Manifesto which precludes him taking that line. The word "comprehensive" attached to the trade agreement does not appear anywhere...

... Here, we have an interesting conundrum as the Manifesto pledges that the new government will aim to have 80 percent of UK trade covered by free trade agreements within the next three years, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. These deals are supposed to be negotiated in parallel with the EU deal... But the very fact that a deal with the US, for instance, could only be concluded once Brussels had been squared, might actually incentivise Johnson to get the EU out of the way as quickly as possible, regardless of short-term problems... What we could be looking at, therefore, is a major sea-change in trade policy, breaking away from Euro-centric deals in favour of the Anglosphere and the Commonwealth. And as long as Johnson sees no great harm in weathering a few years of lean times while he settles his new trade policy, there is every reason why he should aim for concluding negotiations with the EU by the end of December 2020...

http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=87436

[Ghost Dog]

2. Pound Election Rally Erased by Johnson's 2020 Brexit Pledge

... Sterling dropped by the most since July after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will amend the law to ensure a December 2020 deadline for the nation to reach a trade deal with the European Union can’t be postponed, even if they don’t agree on one. The currency’s one-year implied volatility was headed for the biggest jump since May...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-17/pound-slides-on-reports-johnson-will-block-further-brexit-delay