[Politics] Lord Frost of Brexit resigns

[WATFORD zero]

They have signed, supposedly, a zero tariff trade agreement with the UK, which, allegedly, makes it easier for the EU to continue selling into the UK and, in exchange, makes it easier for the UK to sell into the EU. The experience this year is that there is no zero tariff agreement, or the EU is ignoring it, and they are slapping massive tariffs on UK imports. Certainly they would use their size to get better deals but they appear to be ignoring the agreement supposedly signed.

I'm afraid the EU are simply sticking to the 'Free trade agreement' signed with the UK. This is the 'good deal' that Johnson and co negotiated and 'Free trade' doesn't mean zero tariff, tax or fees. Sorry :shrug'

 

[Eric the meek]

Removing Dorries from social media is understandable. If she posted on NSC, she’d be confined to the Bear Pit.
https://youtu.be/I58FVyhCYcE

Since I spilled wine over my laptop, there is no sound coming out of it.

I have to say I now find Nadine Dorries really quite attractive in a mute kind of way. Do you think the two things are linked?

 

[The Clamp]

There never was a tariff free agreement. This is an out and out Tory lie.

 

[Seagull58]

I'm afraid the EU are simply sticking to the 'Free trade agreement' signed with the UK. This is the 'good deal' that Johnson and co negotiated and 'Free trade' doesn't mean zero tariff, tax or fees. Sorry :shrug'

From the EU website (not the UK's website):-
The agreement covers not just trade in goods and services, but also a broad range of other areas in the EU's interest, such as investment, competition, State aid, tax transparency, air and road transport, energy and sustainability, fisheries, data protection, and social security coordination.

It provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin.

 

[Seagull58]

There never was a tariff free agreement. This is an out and out Tory lie.

There is.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/...gdom/eu-uk-trade-and-cooperation-agreement_en

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

BREXIT is yesterday's chip paper. In the words of the Godhead Potter 'It Is What It Is'. Crap sock puppet jolly jape politicians have served their mediocre populist purpose. Time to maybe return politics to the grown-ups. Y'know, the people who actally care about this stuff

 

[The Clamp]

There is.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/...gdom/eu-uk-trade-and-cooperation-agreement_en

You mean this?;


“It provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin.”


That’s not a tariff free agreement.

 

[Seagull58]

You mean this?;


“It provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin.”


That’s not a tariff free agreement.

It is a zero tariff and zero quota agreement.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

BREXIT is yesterday's chip paper. In the words of the Godhead Potter 'It Is What It Is'. Crap sock puppet jolly jape politicians have served their mediocre populist purpose. Time to maybe return politics to the grown-ups. Y'know, the people who actally care about this stuff

……. The people who not only care about this stuff, but who might also actually know how to do it…..

 

[T.G]

Ii wasn't aware of this but it seems quite possible. In my experience, and this is mirrored by many non-EU citizens who are resident in the EU. the EU bureaucrats do not really want to trade with anyone outside the EU. They would prefer to stop as much international trade as they can and trade exclusively within the 27. This "policy" is taken by Portuguese and Spanish customs (and probably others) as an opportunity to extract as much duty as they can get from anyone importing items from the rest of the world. 26 euros duty demanded for a tea towel valued at 1 euro sent from Australia is one notable example.

Edit this has been their standard behaviour for years with non-EU countries. Now they have the opportunity to add the UK to the list and, an added bonus, punish them for leaving the EU at the same time.

If this is true how stupid were we to leave

 

[CheeseRolls]

I am very confused by the zero tariff free trade deal. Any product ordered from the UK for delivery to Portugal is now held up by Portuguese customs until huge customs duties are paid. This has been going on since January. Even Christmas presents, for example, are generally intercepted and import duties up to more than 100% of the stated value are demanded. Failure to pay often results in the goods being returned to sender. It is for this reason that M&S and others have set up distribution warehouses in the EU along with EU internal websites. This behaviour by the Portuguese is pretty much how they behave towards all the non-EU countries that DON'T have a zero tariff trade agreement.
There are many, many instances this year of UK people driving off the ferry at Santander, getting pulled over by Spanish customs and receiving an on-the-spot demand for up to 150 euros to bring their private possessions into the EU. So, what is this zero tariff agreement?

Are you sure this is duty and not VAT?

A large number of companies who used to ship small volumes of stuff to the UK. now won't as they would need to be VAT registered in the UK and it is not worth the headache. That is unless you can ship personal gifts of less than £37 in value. I am pretty sure this is happening in reverse as well.

 

[Dick Head]

It is a zero tariff and zero quota agreement.

Yes, on all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin. And can't Portugal and Spain impose their own customs and other duties on imports from a third country because they have SOVEREIGNTY?

 

[Seagull58]

Are you sure this is duty and not VAT?

A large number of companies who used to ship small volumes of stuff to the UK. now won't as they would need to be VAT registered in the UK and it is not worth the headache. That is unless you can ship personal gifts of less than £37 in value. I am pretty sure this is happening in reverse as well.

It's duty. VAT is a separate amount and is a fixed percentage. The "duty" appears to be a random number that is always excessively large.

 

[Machiavelli]

But there is meant to be a zero tariff trade deal in place!

That's what they have said. What they haven't said is that there are all sorts of other charges involved that don't fall under the heading 'tariffs'.

 

[Machiavelli]

Bit isn't this the biggest single reason for any trading union or bloc around the world. Reward the members for trading within the bloc as this is in all their interests, punish non members, and use your size to get better deals from non members. Why else would you form one

Quite.
And, in addition, most countries do most of their trading with those countries closest to them. Beyond 'global Britain' have you stumbled across other countries that break this particular rule via your sustained and patient engagement on the Brexit thread?

 

[The Clamp]

It is a zero tariff and zero quota agreement.

It provides for such an agreement. It is not such an agreement. It also does not apply to all goods. By a long ways.


Besides which, if we had an all encompassing zero tariff agreement we wouldn’t be paying tariffs.

 

[Seagull58]

It provides for such an agreement. It is not such an agreement. It also does not apply to all goods. By a long ways.


Besides which, if we had an all encompassing zero tariff agreement we wouldn’t be paying tariffs.

It is precisely such an agreement. That is exactly what it says. What it isn't, and doesn't say it is, is an all encompassing zero tariff agreement that applies to all goods. That doesn't justify the fact that some EU countries are either completely ignoring the agreement when they want to (which is most of the time), and/or are imposing a very specific interpretation that allows them, legally or not, to fleece people importing both new and used goods.

 

[CheeseRolls]

It's duty. VAT is a separate amount and is a fixed percentage. The "duty" appears to be a random number that is always excessively large.

Interesting, are they making a value judgement on goods shipped from the UK that have originated elsewhere? By this I mean you buy something from a UK website only for the goods or raw materials to have been sourced from other countries? This was definitely not part of any UK/EU agreement and it is one of the reasons Northern Ireland is such a complex mess.

 

[vegster]

I'm afraid the EU are simply sticking to the 'Free trade agreement' signed with the UK. This is the 'good deal' that Johnson and co negotiated and 'Free trade' doesn't mean zero tariff, tax or fees. Sorry :shrug'

It's absolutely hilarious that Frosty the No man has scuttled off now rather than admit that his deal was brilliant for NI but crap for the Unionists and the UK. He's another one of the ****wits to run off rather than take responsibility for their ignorant pipe dreams and empty promises.

 

[The Clamp]

It is precisely such an agreement. That is exactly what it says. What it isn't, and doesn't say it is, is an all encompassing zero tariff agreement that applies to all goods. That doesn't justify the fact that some EU countries are either completely ignoring the agreement when they want to (which is most of the time), and/or are imposing a very specific interpretation that allows them, legally or not, to fleece people importing both new and used goods.

Okay, if it makes you feel better.