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Britain has concluded a Brexit trade agreement with the European Union on Thursday, just seven days before it emerged from one of the world’s largest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of the empire, Reuters reported.
The deal, negotiated more than four years after Britain voted by a small majority to leave the bloc, offers a way out of a chaotic end, for divorce that rocked the 70-year project to build European unity from the ruins of WWII.
The deal will keep the UK access to zero tariffs and zero quotas to the 450 million consumer bloc’s single market, but will not prevent economic problems and disruptions for the UK or for the EU Member States.
Many aspects of Britain’s future relations with the EU have yet to be clarified, probably for years.
“We regain control“said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in front of reporters after posting a photo on Twitter in which he raised both hands in triumph, thumbs up. “People said it was impossible, but we regained control.”
The UK officially left the EU on January 31, but has been in a transition period since then, with trade, travel and trade rules remaining unchanged until the end of this year. Johnson, the face of the Brexit campaign, said that because 52% voted to leave the EU, they did not want to accept the rules of their single market or customs union after January 1.
The EU did not want to grant unfettered privileges of Britain’s deregulated and free-moving economy outside the bloc and thus potentially encourage others to leave – as a result, painful negotiations took place.
“The road was long and winding“, said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Layen in front of reporters, quoting a Paul McCartney song. “But we have a lot to show … We can finally put Brexit behind us and look to the future. Now Europe is moving forward.”
Johnson described the last minute deal as a “huge” free trade agreement similar to the one between the European Union and Canada, and called for Britain to overcome the rift caused by the referendum for Brexit in 2016
The agreement will also support peace in Northern Ireland. – a priority for the president-elect of the United States, Joe Bidenwho warned Johnson to abide by the 1998 Good Friday agreement.
EU member Ireland said the deal, which the Commission’s website says will be published soon, protects its interests as well as it could have hoped. But much of the details have yet to be worked out.
The commercial agreement will not cover the serviceswhich represent 80% of the British economy, including the banking industry, which positions London as the only financial capital to rival New York.
Access to the EU market for UK-based banks, insurers and asset managers uneven at best.
Johnson I declare that the deal does not contain as much as you would like talking about regulatory equivalence of financial services, but it still contains some “good language”.
JPMorgan stated that The EU has reached an agreement that allows it to retain almost all its advantages. of trade with the United Kingdom, but with the possibility of using “selection” regulations between sectors in which the United Kingdom has advantages, such as services.
“Europe’s unity and strength have paid off“said French President Emmanuel Macron. “The agreement with the United Kingdom is essential to protect our citizens, our fishermen, our producers.”
The Brexit activist Nigel Farage said the deal would keep Britain too closely tied to the EU, adding that hope this is the beginning of the end of the block.
Even with a deal, trading in goods will have more rules, more bureaucracy, and more costs. There will be some disruption in the ports. Everything from food safety regulation and export standards to product certification will change.
Employee of the Department of State of The United States welcomes the agreement and stated that Washington wants good relations with the UK and the EU. “As we have said, we respect the UK’s sovereign decision to leave the EU and we look forward to continuing strong relations with both the UK and the EU,” the official said.
When the UK shocks the world by voting to leave the EU, many in Europe they hoped to remain closely tied. Von der Layen, Quoting Shakespeare, he said “separation is such a sweet pain“.
The EU is losing its main military and intelligence power, 15% of GDP, one of the two best financial capitals in the world and champion of the free market, which was an important corrective to the ambitions of Germany and France.
Without the collective power of the EU, the UK will remain largely independent – and very more dependent on the United States – in negotiations with China, Russia and India. There will be more autonomy, but it will be poorer, at least in the short term.
The Bank of England said that even with a trade deal, gross domestic product of Great Britain is likely to suffer 1% Brexit hit in the first quarter of 2021. And British experts said that the economy will be 4% lower in 15 yearsthan it would have been if Britain had remained on the bloc.
The post-Brexit trade deal needs approval from both the European Parliament and the 27 EU member states. EU ambassadors begin reviewing the agreement.
Britain’s parliament, divided over Brexit, will discuss and vote on the deal on December 30, just one day before the end of the transition period.
EU ambassadors met at Christmas to start evaluating the deal for the free trade arranged by the bloc with Great Britain, reports AP. EU countries have already shown their support for the outcome, and were expected to unanimously support the deal, which is a prerequisite for its legal approval.
Prompt approval of the deal is essential, as the transition period expires on New Year’s Eve. Both parties now claim that the 2,000-page agreement protects their cherished goals..
Updated
The EU and Britain have reached a landmark trade deal
The contract includes zero-duty clauses and unprecedented fees for all assets.
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