Monday 6 March 2017

Brexit fake news


"Brexit negotiations could take JUST 10 MINUTES 'and Ivan Rogers admitted it'" says the Daily Express.

"Peter Lilley, who served under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, thinks if the EU shows some common sense regarding trade tariffs the negotiations could be wrapped-up in no time - and he claims Ivan Rogers agrees with him."The UK’s former Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the European Union, who sensationally resigned in January, apparently spoke with Mr Lilley and admitted there was no need for protracted talks. If Britain is prepared to offer the EU a no tariff agreement and the EU is willing reciprocate then there is nothing left to talk about, according to the Tory grandee."

He said: “If we are starting from a position of no tariffs and are working towards a position of no tariffs then there’s no need for it to take longer than 10 minutes. "What’s there to negotiate? I put this to Ivan Rogers and he agreed with me.”

Except that is not quite what Rogers actually said.
Mr Lilley: There are remarkably few people who argue that no deal is quite likely. I am one of them. There are two different reasons for thinking no deal is quite likely. There are those, like me, who think that politics may trump economics, and there are those who think it is all just too difficult. You, in your evidence to the European Scrutiny Committee, quoted the problems of negotiating free trade agreements with Canada.

Surely, that is a totally different thing from negotiating a free trade agreement when you start off with free trade. Canada had 5,000 different tariff lines and the EU 12,500, behind each of which protected interests had grown up, and you were having to say, “We will reduce this over three years if you reduce that over two years”, and so on. It takes a long time. If you start from zero tariffs and go to zero tariffs, why does it take more than 10 minutes? This is only about tariffs; we will deal with non-tariff barriers later.

Sir Ivan Rogers: Yes, on tariffs, in principle that is right. The problem is non-tariffs.

Q1099 Mr Lilley: No, that is fine. Let us move on to non-tariff barriers.
That would be those 303 or so elephants in the room...

Elimination of customs duties; Standstill; Administration and implementation of tariff-rate quotas; Non-tariff measures; National treatment; Import and export restrictions; Fees and other charges on imports; Duties, taxes or other fees and charges on exports; State trading enterprises; Elimination of sectoral non-tariff measures; Specific exceptions related to goods; General exceptions; Institutional provisions; Committee on Trade in Goods; Special provisions on administrative cooperation; TRADE REMEDIES; Bilateral safeguard measures; Application of a bilateral safeguard measure; Conditions and limitations; Provisional measures; Compensation; Agricultural safeguard measures; Global safeguard measures; Anti-dumping and countervailing duties; General provisions; Notification; Consideration of public interests; Investigation after termination resulting from a review; Cumulative assessment; De-minimis standard applicable to review; Lesser duty rule; Dispute settlement; Institutional provisions; Working Group on Trade Remedy Cooperation; TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE; Scope and definitions; Joint cooperation; Technical regulations; Standards; Conformity assessment and accreditation; Market surveillance; Conformity assessment fees; Marking and labelling; Coordination mechanism; SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES; Objective; Scope; Definition; Rights and obligations; Transparency and exchange of information; International standards; Import requirements; Measures linked to animal and plant health; Cooperation on animal welfare; Committee on sanitary and phytosanitary measures; Dispute settlement; CUSTOMS AND TRADE FACILITATION; Objectives and principles; Release of goods; Simplified customs procedure; Risk management; Transparency; Advance rulings; Appeal procedures; Confidentiality; Fees and charges; Pre-shipment inspections; Post-clearance audit; Customs valuation; Customs cooperation; Mutual administrative assistance in customs matters; Customs contact points; TRADE IN SERVICES, ESTABLISHMENT AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE; General provisions; Objective, scope and coverage; Definitions; Committee on Trade in Services, Establishment and Electronic Commerce; Cross-border supply of services; Scope and definitions; Market access; National treatment; Lists of commitments; MFN treatment; Establishment; Definitions; Scope; Market access; National treatment; Lists of commitments; MFN treatment; Other agreements; Review of the investment legal framework; Temporary presence of natural persons for business; Scope and definitions; Key personnel and graduate trainees; Business service sellers; Contractual service supplier and independent professionals; Regulatory framework; Provisions of general application; Mutual recognition; Transparency and confidential information; Domestic regulation; Governance; Computer services; Postal and courier services; Regulatory principles; Telecommunications services; Regulatory authority; Authorisation to provide telecommunications services; Competitive safeguards on major suppliers; Interconnection; Number portability; Allocation and use of scarce resources; Universal service; Confidentiality of information; Resolution of telecommunications disputes; Financial services; Scope and definitions; Prudential carve-out; Transparency; Self-regulatory organisations; Payment and clearing systems; New financial services; Data processing; Specific exceptions; Dispute settlement; Recognition; International maritime transport services; Scope, definitions and principles; Electronic commerce; Objective and principles; Cooperation on regulatory issues; Exceptions; PAYMENTS AND CAPITAL MOVEMENTS; Current payments; Capital movements; Exceptions; GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT; General provisions; Scope and coverage; Government Procurement Working Group; INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY; General provisions; Objectives; Nature and scope of obligations; Transfer of technology; Exhaustion; Standards concerning intellectual property rights; Copyright and related rights; Protection granted; Duration of authors’ rights; Broadcasting organisations; Cooperation on collective management of rights; Broadcasting and communication to the public; Artists’ resale right in works of Art; Limitations and exceptions; Protection of technological measures; Protection of rights management information; International agreements; Trademarks; Registration procedure; Exceptions to the rights conferred by a trademark; Geographical indications; Recognition of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs and wines; Recognition of specific geographical indications for wines, aromatised wines and spirits; Right of use; Scope of protection; Enforcement of protection; Relationship with trademarks; Addition of geographical indications for protection; Working Group on Geographical Indications; Individual applications for protection of geographical indications; Designs; Protection of registered designs; Rights conferred by registration; Protection conferred to unregistered appearance; Term of protection; Exceptions; Relationship with copyright; International agreement; Patents and public health; Extension of the duration of the rights conferred by patent protection; Protection of data submitted to obtain a marketing authorisation for pharmaceutical products; Protection of data submitted to obtain a marketing authorisation for plant protection products; Implementation; Other provisions; Plant varieties; Genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore; Enforcement of intellectual property rights General obligations; Entitled applicants; Civil measures, procedures and remedies; Evidence; Provisional measures for preserving evidence; Right of information; Provisional and precautionary measures; Corrective measures; Injunctions; Alternative measures; Damages; Legal costs; Publication of judicial decisions; Presumption of authorship or ownership; Criminal enforcement; Scope of criminal enforcement; Geographical indications and designs counterfeiting; Liability of legal persons; Aiding and abetting; Seizure; Penalties; Confiscation; Rights of third parties; Liability of online service providers; Liability of online service providers: ‘mere conduit’; Liability of online service providers: ‘caching’; Liability of online service providers: ‘hosting’; No general obligation to monitor; Border measures; Codes of conduct; Cooperation; Competition; Principles; Definitions; Implementation; Public enterprises and enterprises entrusted with special rights or exclusive rights; State monopolies; Cooperation; Consultation; Dispute settlement; Subsidies; Principles; Definitions of a subsidy and specificity; Prohibited subsidies; Transparency; Relation with the WTO Agreement; Monitoring and review; Scope; TRANSPARENCY; Definitions; Objective and scope; Publication; Enquiries and contact points; Administrative proceedings; Review and appeal; Regulatory quality and performance and good administrative behaviour; Non-discrimination; TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; Context and objectives; Scope; Right to regulate and levels of protection; Multilateral labour standards and agreements; Multilateral environmental agreements; Trade favouring sustainable development; Upholding levels of protection in the application and enforcement of laws, regulations or standards; Scientific information; Transparency; Review of sustainability impacts; Cooperation; Institutional mechanism; Civil society dialogue mechanism; Government consultations; Panel of experts; Dispute settlement; DISPUTE SETTLEMENT; Objective and scope; Consultations; Dispute settlement procedures; Arbitration procedure; Initiation of the arbitration procedure; Establishment of the arbitration panel; Interim panel report; Arbitration panel ruling; Compliance; Compliance with the arbitration panel ruling; The reasonable period of time for compliance; Review of any measure taken to comply with the arbitration panel ruling; Temporary remedies in case of non-compliance; Review of any measure taken to comply after the suspension of obligations; Mutually agreed solution; Rules of procedure; Information and technical advice; Rules of interpretation; Arbitration panel decisions and rulings; General provisions; List of arbitrators; Relation with WTO obligations; Time limits; INSTITUTIONAL, GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS; Trade Committee; Specialised committees; Working Groups; Decision-making; Amendments; Contact points; Taxation; Balance-of-payments exceptions; Security exceptions; Entry into force; Duration; Fulfilment of obligations; Annexes, appendices, protocols and notes; Relation with other agreements; Territorial application; Authentic texts.

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