Fascinating article HERE about British attempts to roll over existing EU trade deals and how the complex rules of origin are going to impact sales of cars for example. Because UK built vehicles only contain about 42% of local content they cannot be exported. The normal figure in EU trade deals is 55%. This could be a huge problem for us.
The author of the Politico article, Hans Von Der Burchard, quotes Peter Holmes a member of the UK Trade Policy Observatory:
“We have a fundamental problem here, the government is just slowly beginning to understand that we can’t just roll over these trade deals,”
He apparently said this shortly after having briefed the Department of International Trade on the issue. The words "slowly beginning to understand" make your heart sink. Here we are almost a year since Article 50 was triggered and we are "slowly beginning to understand" the problems - or at least one of the problems.
So, as a stop-gap measure, the U.K. government is said to be warming to the idea of staying in EU trade accords during a transition period — which could continue until 2021 or longer. One of the reasons for this change of heart is the challenge posed by these rules of origin problems.
But of course, the ardent Brexiteers see none of the practical difficulties, they still have their heads in the clouds talking about global Britain, while down in the engine room klaxons are going off and red lights flash. Watch this space.
