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- EU and international briefing
EU and international briefing
The CBI looks ahead to the negotiations between the UK and the EU on a future trading relationship.
Last week, the government used its new 80 seat majority to vote through the Withdrawal Agreement Bill unamended. This vote approves the UK’s exit from the EU on 31 January, after which it will enter a ‘status quo’ transition period until the end of December 2020.
In early March, negotiations on the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU are expected to begin. The prime minister has re-asserted a new deal must be agreed and ratified by the end of 2020, ruling out any extension to the transition period in law. To meet the UK government’s deadline, EU officials have said a trade deal must, therefore, be negotiated, checked, translated and presented to the European Parliament by 26 November – leaving six months to conclude negotiations. Last week at the London School of Economics, the new European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, described the timetable to strike a replacement trade deal as “extremely challenging.”
To help business’ kickstart their 2020 Brexit planning, Nicole Sykes, the CBI’s Head of EU Negotiations has outlined five thoughts about how 2020 may differ from 2019.
As we look at the next stage of trade negotiations with the EU and other global trading partners, it is vital that we head into this phase with the right business engagement structures in place. This week the CBI published the paper, Building a World-Leading UK Trade Policy, setting out how the government and business can work in partnership together as the UK looks afresh at its post-Brexit international trading relationships.
With a government committed by its manifesto to agree trade deals covering 80% of UK trade by end 2022, the new approach will also have implications for wider trade policy, including a trade deal for the US negotiated in parallel with an EU deal. Timescales for the roll-over of the UK’s trade deals including Canada, Mexico and Japan will be tight if the prime minister sticks to his commitment for a short transition.
The CBI continues to argue that any new trade deals need to be aligned with a close UK relationship with the EU and is working to roll over the UK’s existing trade deals through the EU. CBI International Director Ben Digby and China Director Guy Dru Drury have just been to Japan to meet with the chief negotiator for the future UK-Japan trade deal. The CBI will also continue to keep members on top of wider events in Trade Policy, including US-China, where underlying tensions are likely to continue despite expectations that signs of a slight thaw ahead of a proposed US-China in what will be a big year in wider trade Policy.
Dates for your diary
Chinese New Year Dinner - London, 27 January
Join 200 senior industry peers to cement your important international relationships and broaden your opportunities for a prosperous 2020. Gain insights from prominent business and political speakers on the current and future Sino / UK trade relationship.
Brexit Briefing Webinar - Webinar, 6 February
Only a few weeks into the new Conservative majority government, and following the 31 January UK exit date, tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on what this means for Brexit to help you plan strategically as we head into the next phase of negotiations.
Get involved
Shape the next stage of EU negotiations
The CBI is seeking member priorities to magnify the voice of business as the UK prepares to leave the EU. At this important time, while negotiators on both sides are establishing new mandates, you will help shape the CBI’s positioning on Brexit and how we communicate the business view to government and other stakeholders.
Recent engagements
- CBI Director-General, Carolyn Fairbairn, and CBI Chief Economist, Rain Newton-Smith, met with Charles Roxburgh and Tom Scholar, permanent secretaries in HMT, to discuss the upcoming budget, net zero targets and COP26
- CBI Head of EU Negotiations, Nicole Sykes, met with the Deputy Heads of Mission for Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Luxemburg, Belgium, the Netherlands to discuss the EU’s mandate setting process, as well as the Head of Economic Unit at the Italian Embassy to discuss UK-Italian relations beyond Brexit. CBI Brussels Director Sean McGuire undertook similar meetings with representatives from the French, Dutch and Croatian Brexit teams in Brussels
- CBI Scotland Director, Tracy Black, met with Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister, as part of a series of roundtable discussions commencing this year.