Brexit, the economy and house prices (Part 3)

setmefree2

Ireland referred to EU Court of Justice for failing to collect €13bn from Apple

• European Commission slams Ireland
• Ireland says €13bn tax 'never owed'
• Department of Finance describes decision as 'extremely regrettable'
• Ireland facing potential penalty for missing deadline

http://www.independent.ie/business/ireland-referred-to-eu-court-of-justice-for-failing-to-collect-13bn-from-apple-36196122.html

Herzlos

setmefree2 wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41493370

About time!

I think we should go slightly further, and have the government buy any reposessions (or anyone else that wants to sell for 75% market value) to turn into social housing. Saves them the build costs, gets them cheaper housing, should be self funded from the rent.

That's probably a bit communist though.

setmefree2

UK and EU strike initial deal on WTO quotas in Brexit breakthrough

Both Britain and France want to avoid further competitive pressure on farmers

The UK and Brussels have struck a preliminary agreement on dividing up World Trade Organisation quotas, in one of the first big breakthroughs in Brexit-related talks between London and the European Commission. Diplomats and EU officials contacted by the FT said the two sides had reached an understanding on sharing out the tariff-rate quotas that govern the import of farm products into the EU from countries outside the bloc. The proposed deal would not expand overall quotas — and hence market access — despite third countries’ calls for it to do so.

"The EU and the UK intend to maintain the existing levels of market access available to other WTO members,” a joint letter sent to EU capitals says. “Both the UK and the EU would look to reassure our WTO partners that we will strive to minimise disruption.” The deal in principle could help pave the way to the UK joining the WTO as an independent member in its own right rather than as part of the EU.

The issue has become particularly sensitive, since the UK and the EU will need to share out the quotas — which can total tens of thousands of tonnes of meat and dairy products — when Britain leaves the bloc in 2019. Some countries such as Australia and New Zealand have been pushing for an increase in the combined UK-EU quotas after Brexit, to avoid any reduction in trade with Britain. But under the proposed UK-commission deal, the quotas would be divided up according to where the goods were previously consumed. This would mean that the UK would take a larger quota for products such as New Zealand lamb, where it traditionally accounts for much of the EU demand. The consumption patterns would be measured over a three-year period, according to people familiar with the talks.

The EU-UK understanding faces an additional obstacle because of a lack of the data that could help divide up the quotas. People involved in the talks said that, while the EU has highly detailed information on the point of arrival of goods into the EU, figuring out where they are consumed is much more difficult, given the free movement of goods within the single market. Diplomats say that a key EU priority is to settle the issue quickly in further talks with the UK, and to present a united front to other WTO members who may challenge the method for splitting the tariff-rate quotas and seek compensation. Both sides intend that the draft letter setting out the plans will be circulated within the WTO’s membership ahead of a series of WTO meetings on agriculture in the week of October 16.

https://www.ft.com/content/e30185c6-a83d-11e7-ab55-27219df83c97

setmefree2

More on the quotas agreement.

EU, Britain agree to seek same WTO quotas after Brexit

Britain and its European Union partners have agreed to ask the other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to maintain the current level of quotas for farm produce after Brexit, EU sources said.
Since negotiations began in June between London and Brussels on how to extract Britain from the bloc in March 2019, the two sides have been working to establish a common approach to dividing up their relationship with other members of the WTO, as at present all 28 EU states are represented as a single bloc.
The sources said that the other 27 EU members would discuss this week what was described as a “very preliminary” agreement with Britain. The British economy accounts for about 16 percent of the EU economy but its share of EU imports from other WTO countries at preferential tariffs varies according to products.
It remains to be seen what those other WTO members will say to the European proposals. Even before Brexit, some were looking at possible changes in their trading terms with the EU as the Union has added new members since some such deals were struck.
“We have to see if other WTO states agree,” one EU diplomat said, adding that it would take time to reach agreement at the WTO.
No official comment was immediately available from the European Commission or the British government.

The Financial Times, which first reported the deal, quoted a letter from EU and British negotiators to the other 27 EU governments as saying: “The EU and the UK intend to maintain the existing levels of market access available to other WTO members.
“Both the UK and the EU would look to reassure our WTO partners that we will strive to minimise disruption.”

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/eu-britain-agree-to-seek-same-wto-quotas-after-brexit-sources/

setmefree2

I like this headline

EU Says: Alexa Pay Your Taxes

setmefree2

Tory MP Bernard Jenkin urges visa deal for EU musicians

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41463403

setmefree2

EU sets new trade rules to limit cheap Chinese imports

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-china-trade/eu-sets-new-trade-rules-to-limit-cheap-chinese-imports-idUKKCN1C81OO?il=0

mayonnaise

10 links posted.
Any opinion? Any comment? Anything we could debate? Anything at all?

Arklight

setmefree2 wrote: »

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-china-trade/eu-sets-new-trade-rules-to-limit-cheap-chinese-imports-idUKKCN1C81OO?il=0

As others have pointed out. Spamming the thread with links is getting very tiresome and disrupting any actual debate that's going on.


Can someone quote this please as he's put me and everyone else he's disagreed with on ignore.

setmefree2

ECB Closes in on Power Over Euro-Derivative Clearing Post-Brexit

• European Commission backs ECB plan for oversight of industry
• Brexit poses ‘significant challenge’ to oversight: commission

The European Central Bank moved closer to gaining power over the lucrative clearing industry, a crown jewel of London’s financial hub and a key flash point in Brexit negotiations.
The ECB on Tuesday won the European Commission’s backing in its push for power over clearing of euro-denominated financial contracts, which would give it more control over clearinghouses based outside the European Union, including those in London after the U.K. quits the bloc.
The Brussels-based commission, the EU’s executive arm, said the powers are necessary for the ECB to fully oversee contracts tied to the euro and monitor an industry that has grown in importance since the 2008 crisis. The ECB’s June 23 proposal came in response to the commission’s broader plans for overhauling clearing rules.

Brexit presents an “additional significant challenge” to oversight because EU rules will no longer directly apply to the world’s major hub for clearing of euro-denominated derivatives, the commission said. The commission said earlier this year that about 97 percent of the notional amount outstanding of euro-denominated over-the-counter interest-rate derivatives is done at London’s main clearinghouse.
The commission’s opinion now heads to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which represents the EU’s national governments. These two bodies must decide on amending EU law to give the power to the central bank.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-03/ecb-closes-in-on-power-over-euro-derivative-clearing-post-brexit