Brexit Deal

Britain joins trans-Pacific pact in biggest post-Brexit trade deal

The pact represents Britain's first free trade deals with Malaysia and Brunei, but while it had agreements with the other countries, CPTPP provisions go further, especially in giving companies choices

Emmanuel Macron's election gamble gives Europe Brexit nightmares again

EU officials have spent much of the past decade dealing with the fallout from the UK vote

UK's post-Brexit border arrangements to cost $6 bn after repeated delays

The first phase of Britain's so called new Border Target Operating Model, requiring additional certification, came into force on Jan. 31

Former British PM Theresa May to stand down at next election after 27 years

Theresa May, who was the prime minister of Britain between 2016 and 2019, on Friday announced her exit from frontline politics after 27 years as a member of Parliament in the House of Commons. The 67-year-old, whose travails with getting a Brexit deal through Parliament in the wake of the June 2016 referendum ended in a forced exit from 10 Downing Street over four years ago, said she had taken the "difficult decision" to not contest in the next general election from her Maidenhead constituency in south-east England. She has been the Conservative MP for the Berkshire seat since 1997, having been elected seven times. "Since stepping down as prime minister I have enjoyed being a backbencher again and having more time to work for my constituents and champion causes close to my heart including most recently launching a Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, said May in a statement to her local Maidenhead Advertiser'. These causes have been taking an increasing amount

UK, EU to jointly tackle illegal immigration as post-Brexit relations thaw

Britain and its former partners in the European Union have struck a deal to cooperate more on tackling illegal migration, in the latest sign of a thawing in relations between the two sides following Brexit. The British government said in a statement Friday that UK border agencies and Frontex, the EU's border and coast guard agency, will be able to access each other's intelligence to secure borders and tackle organised immigration crime. There will also be joint training, deployments of staff from one side to the other, and collaboration on research and development on new technologies. The agreement, which will be signed later in London, doesn't include any bilateral returns agreement, which means neither side will be obliged to to take any asylum-seekers under burden-sharing arrangements agreed on between the EU's 27 member states. Organised immigration crime and people smuggling are global challenges that require shared solutions and ambitions," UK Home Secretary James Cleverly ...

EFTA: Trade deficit, Swiss blanket removal of import duties to hurt India

Large trade deficit with Switzerland and its decision to remove import duties on almost all industrial goods for all countries starting January 1 would limit gains for India under the proposed trade agreement with EFTA bloc, a report said on Monday. The report by economic think tank GTRI said the trade agreement in the current format will not help Indian exports and will result in higher imports and wider trade deficit. India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are negotiating a free trade agreement, officially dubbed as Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with a view to boosting economic ties. FTA (free trade agreement) negotiations were initiated in January 2008. EFTA members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. "The Indian side faces challenges in achieving a balanced outcome in the agreement with EFTA. There are concerns due to the large trade deficit in favour of EFTA, Switzerland's new policy of allowing tariff-free entry for all indust

Brexit-like referendum on Article 370 is out of question: Supreme Court

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal said that the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted Jammu and Kashmir special status, was a political act like Brexit

UK ditches post-Brexit plan to scrap thousands of EU laws by year's end

Britain's bonfire of European Union laws has been reduced to embers. The U.K. government on Wednesday scrapped a plan to remove all remaining EU laws, about 4,000 in all, from British statute books by the end of this year a post-Brexit goal that critics said was rash and unachievable. Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said in a written statement that the government would instead draw up a list of about 600 specific laws that would be revoked. Badenoch acknowledged there were risks of legal uncertainty if all EU laws were ditched by the end of the year. A lawmaker from the opposition Labour Party, Jenny Chapman, called the announcement a humiliating U-turn from a weak and divided government. Thousands of pieces of EU law were cut-and-pasted into U.K. legislation when Britain left the bloc in 2020 after decades of membership, to ensure continuity for people and businesses. The government's Retained EU Law Bill would have automatically removed all of them at the end of the year unles

Britain agrees to join Asia-Pacific trade pact in post-Brexit deal

The UK has agreed to join an Asia-Pacific trade pact that includes Japan, Mexico and Australia the biggest new trade deal Britain has struck since leaving the European Union three years ago. The British government said Friday that it had clinched an agreement after almost two years of negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. The government said membership would reduce tariffs on British dairy products and other goods and remove red tape for services, boosting the UK economy by 1.8 billion pounds "in the long run". Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the deal "demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms". "Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the U.K. at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join," Sunak said. The deal comes as the UK pursues an "Indo-Pacific tilt" in its economic and foreign policy in response to the ...

UK PM travels to Belfast to convince his toughest audience on Brexit deal

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak traveled to Belfast on Tuesday to sell his landmark agreement with the European Union to its toughest audience: Unionist politicians who fear post-Brexit trade rules are weakening Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom. The UK and the 27-nation EU announced Monday that they had struck a deal to resolve a dispute over Northern Ireland trade that has vexed relations since the UK left the bloc in 2020. The agreement will ease customs checks and other hurdles for goods moving to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. that were imposed after Brexit to maintain an open border between the north and its EU neighbour, the Republic of Ireland. The deal, dubbed the Windsor Framework, was hailed by London and Brussels as a breakthrough. But Northern Ireland's British unionist politicians have yet to give it their blessing. Their support is key to restoring Northern Ireland's semi-autonomous government, which has been toppled by the trade feud, leaving 1

UK, EU conclude new post-Brexit trade arrangement for Northern Ireland

The agreement - dubbed the 'Windsor Framework' - was struck over the Northern Ireland Protocol, aiming to ease the trading issues created by the Protocol

'Decisive breakthrough': UK PM Rishi Sunak declares new Brexit pact

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday unveiled a decisive breakthrough in achieving a new deal with the European Union (EU) to resolve the post-Brexit trade dispute related to Northern Ireland. After weeks of intensive negotiations, Sunak was joined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a final set of in-person talks in Windsor, south east England, after which the duo addressed the media to confirm a new Windsor Framework. It replaces the previous Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed by Sunak's former boss Boris Johnson to prevent a hard border between UK territory Northern Ireland and EU member-state Ireland but eventually proving unworkable and causing much tension between the UK and EU. I'm pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough. Together we have changed the original protocol and are today announcing the new Windsor framework, Sunak told reporters. Today's agreement delivers smooth-flowing trade within the whole United Kingdom, ..

British PM Sunak pledges to 'give everything' for new Brexit deal

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday pledged to give everything he has got to fix the lingering problems of Brexit and clinch a new deal with the European Union (EU) that resolves the problematic Northern Ireland Protocol. The protocol, agreed by his former boss Boris Johnson, was struck to prevent a hard border between UK territory Northern Ireland and EU member-state Ireland. However, in practice, it has proved controversial and created a standoff between the UK and EU over a resolution until now, when hopes of a new deal have been revived after intensive talks. I voted for Brexit and I believe in Brexit because it offers vast opportunities for families and businesses across our whole country, writes Sunak in The Daily Telegraph'. He notes that while Brexit was about restoring the UK's sovereignty, the Northern Ireland Protocol had undermined that and created "serious barriers to trade within the United Kingdom, and that is unacceptable". "My job is to seize this ...

UK PM Rishi Sunak set for his biggest political test yet with Brexit deal

Sunak oversaw a diplomatic flurry in recent days, holding meetings with parties in Northern Ireland and with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to lay the groundwork

UK to ease financial rules in post-Brexit shakeup to attract investments

Britain is easing banking rules brought in after the 2008 global financial crisis in a bid to attract investment and secure London's status as Europe's leading finance centre. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt said Friday that the changes, which follow Britain's departure from the European Union in 2020, will make the UK one of the most open, dynamic and competitive financial services hubs in the world. The package of more than 30 changes includes lifting a cap on bankers' bonuses and easing capital requirements for smaller lenders. The government also said it will review regulations that hold bankers accountable for their decisions and will relax ringfencing rules intended to separate risky investment banking from retail operations. Hunt said the government was using Brexit freedoms to make Britain more competitive. But many economists point out that the U.K.'s departure from the EU has erected barriers to trade and led some firms to shift offices and jobs to other European cities. Last

UK, Ireland signal new hope of deal to end grinding Brexit trade feud

Britain and Ireland hailed a new spirit of compromise on Friday in a grinding feud over post-Brexit trade rules, expressing hope of making enough progress in the next three weeks to avoid a destabilising new election in Northern Ireland. It comes as new British Prime Minister Liz Truss seeks to improve relations with the UK's neighbours after the country's long, acrimonious divorce from the European Union. UK Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said Britain and the EU were negotiating in good faith and good humour a marked contrast from the bitter tone that has marred relations since the UK voted for Brexit in 2016. Speaking to reporters in London after a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, he said he was very positive about the chances of getting a negotiated solution. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said political leadership is about making things happen and sometimes surprising people, and I think that's what we need to do over the next fe

Germany, Ireland slam UK govt's move toward overriding Brexit deal

Germany and Ireland have condemned the UK government's move towards unilaterally rewriting parts of the post-Brexit deal with the European Union

Britain considering return of pound, ounce in post-Brexit measures

Boris Johnson is reportedly set to announce a return to imperial measurements of pounds and ounces as a post-Brexit move away from the metric system to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee next week.

Great Brexit brawl: EU offers to improve Northern Ireland trade

The great Brexit brawl is heading into its next standoff on Wednesday when European Union concessions to improve trade in Northern Ireland look likely to be deemed insufficient by the United Kingdom

UK set to irk EU with bid to change major post-Brexit trade rules

Tense post-Brexit relations between Britain and the European Union face further strain on Wednesday, when the UK calls for major changes to trade rules agreed on by both sides.