Brexit pangs
Brexit, once hailed as a grand natural experiment for economists to dissect the repercussions of leaving a low-friction trade environment, has proven messier than anticipated.
Brexit, once hailed as a grand natural experiment for economists to dissect the repercussions of leaving a low-friction trade environment, has proven messier than anticipated.
The light-touch checks under the grace period for supermarket products will expire at the end of September.
Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy and the MP from Richmond, Yorkshire, since 2015, was virtually unknown even a year ago. “Just five out of 1,191 named Rishi Sunak” in a poll conducted in December 2019 by Tim Bale, a professor of politics at the Queen Mary University.
Half a decade of the British cohabitating with their Continental cousins has now ended, launching the UK on a path of its own making, free from EU laws, able to strike trade agreements with other countries around the world, and reshape its economy, society and governance structures.
The UK was adamant throughout the negotiations that it be treated as a sovereign equal of the EU and have its independence respected. This was particularly important when it came to fishing rights – one of the last issues to be resolved.
According to British government figures, trade between the two countries totalled 31.4 billion pounds last year, with 9,500 UK-based businesses exporting goods to Japan.
With protests becoming ever more violent in Hong Kong and elections producing pro-democracy legislatures, the possibility that China would wreak revenge and end the “one country, two systems” arrangement could not be discounted.
The “breaking news” from China was aired the world over in December.
The deadline for a deal looked fanciful before the present crisis; now it looks impractical, even impossible, and must be extended.
The end of year deadline was always considered an ambitious goal but now borders across the 27-nation bloc have been shut and entire countries placed in lockdown.
