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May. 13th, 2018 12:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chickenfeetTrying to understand how the competing Tory positions for a customs relationship after Brexit are supposed to work:
As I understand, under May's "customs partnership" goods entering the UK from 3rd countries are liable to import duties at EU rates but, where a lower rate applies under UK/3rd party country agreements, the recipient would be entitled to a refund of the difference if they could show the goods remained in the UK. But how does this meet the EU requirement for non-tariff barrier controls? Suppose, under a future US/UK free trade agreement the UK imports GMO soybeans which are not permitted in the EU. How can the UK government ensure that that shipment is not shipped on over a border with no controls? The alternative would have to be that all EU non-tariff rules apply to UK imports which isn't, I think, what May is proposing.
The alternative; "Maxfac" seems to involve the existence of a border but some kind of magic technology solution that detects the movement of goods and, somehow, ensures that tariffs are collected and non-tariff barriers respected. It also seems to include some kind of "trusted trader" initiative where both UK and EU would allow large companies to self-police. I can see this latter working for something like automobile or aerospace supply chains where the non-tariff issues are few and only a handful of large companies need be involved but for agri-business (a huge part of UK/EU trade) or Chinese knock-off handbags? I also don't see how even a minimally invasive solution could be done without some physical infrastructure at the border, which is a problem for Ireland.
It also seems to me that both schemes require the deployment of new IT systems not currently in place anywhere, so no "off the shelf" solution. The prospect of designing, building and deploying a large scale multi-government, bespoke IT/hardware system in a little over two years seems fanciful. Most cities take longer than that to deploy a fare card.
I'm assuming both proposals are "unicorns" designed to prolong the inevitable split in the Tory party but I'm willing to listen to arguments about how either or both might work.
As I understand, under May's "customs partnership" goods entering the UK from 3rd countries are liable to import duties at EU rates but, where a lower rate applies under UK/3rd party country agreements, the recipient would be entitled to a refund of the difference if they could show the goods remained in the UK. But how does this meet the EU requirement for non-tariff barrier controls? Suppose, under a future US/UK free trade agreement the UK imports GMO soybeans which are not permitted in the EU. How can the UK government ensure that that shipment is not shipped on over a border with no controls? The alternative would have to be that all EU non-tariff rules apply to UK imports which isn't, I think, what May is proposing.
The alternative; "Maxfac" seems to involve the existence of a border but some kind of magic technology solution that detects the movement of goods and, somehow, ensures that tariffs are collected and non-tariff barriers respected. It also seems to include some kind of "trusted trader" initiative where both UK and EU would allow large companies to self-police. I can see this latter working for something like automobile or aerospace supply chains where the non-tariff issues are few and only a handful of large companies need be involved but for agri-business (a huge part of UK/EU trade) or Chinese knock-off handbags? I also don't see how even a minimally invasive solution could be done without some physical infrastructure at the border, which is a problem for Ireland.
It also seems to me that both schemes require the deployment of new IT systems not currently in place anywhere, so no "off the shelf" solution. The prospect of designing, building and deploying a large scale multi-government, bespoke IT/hardware system in a little over two years seems fanciful. Most cities take longer than that to deploy a fare card.
I'm assuming both proposals are "unicorns" designed to prolong the inevitable split in the Tory party but I'm willing to listen to arguments about how either or both might work.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-13 07:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-13 08:08 pm (UTC)I keep waiting for the farce to tilt over into chaos. It hasn't happened yet, but it has to someday.