In a barrage of trade announcements today, the UK has launched FTA negotiations with both Australia and New Zealand. Aussie PM Scot Morrison today said that a deal could be signed and delivered by the end of the year. On top of this, Truss has announced a substantial update to the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership – a free trade area of 11 countries including Canada, Mexico, Chile, Australia, and Japan. DIT has had a lot on its hands…
Since July 2018, the UK has now “engaged with all 11 member countries at both ministerial and official level to explore UK accession to CPTPP” with all CPTPP members having “welcomed the UK’s interest in accession.” It’s looking more and more likely that the UK will join this true global free trade area – which upon accession will have a combined GDP equal to the EU yet without Brussels’ political control. Remainers must be heartbroken in their disappointment…
With Parliament rebooting its functions, the crucial role of the Women and Equalities Select Committee during the international Coronavirus crisis cannot be understated. Appearing electronically before the panel this morning, Liz Truss gave a fiery performance, rejecting Chairman Caroline Nokes’ probing over a lack of gender diversity at the Government’s daily press briefings. Truss swatted back, saying “I don’t like tokenism, the idea someone should appear at a press conference or a media interview because they’re a woman”. Watch the exchange highlights above…
Liz Truss has been unusually clear on today’s Politics Live, saying that if the US demands higher drug prices in the UK in trade negotiations, the UK will walk away from the talks. Trade is, after all, meant to make things cheaper…
At first the Labour Party tried to claim the Tories wanted No Deal trade, now their attack line rests on the Tories going for an ‘any deal is better than No Deal’ philosophy. As far as Guido can make out, that’s what the Labour Party believes, not the Tories…
Liz Truss suffered a very hot flush during a trade meeting recently when a Tory party vice-chair managed to knock an entire cup of coffee over her red ministerial folder. Luckily her SpAds were on hand with a spare…
Guido thought he’d save the face of the MP responsible, but suggests the Young Dude spends the next Five Years seeing to it that his behaviour Changes if reelected. He’s hardly become one of Truss’s Heroes…
This week the UK reached agreements with South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini and Mozambique for trade continuity after Brexit, ensuring deals will be signed worth £10 billion to the UK economy.
These new countries mean that Liz Truss’ Department for International Trade has reached agreements in the last few months with 44 countries and the Palestinian Authority. Guido brings you the full, ever growing list along with their population and GDP here…
- Antigua and Barbuda 102,012 1.532 billion
- Bahamas 395,361 12.16 billion
- Barbados 285,719 4.797 billion
- Belize 374,681 1.838 billion
- Botswana 2.292 million 17.41 billion
- Chile 18.95 million 277.1 billion
- Colombia 49.07 million 309.2 billion
- Costa Rica 4.906 million 57.06 billion
- Dominica 73,925 562.5 million
- Dominican Republic 10.77 million 75.93 billion
- Ecuador 16.62 million 103.1 billion
- El Salvador 6.378 million 24.81 billion
- Eswatini 1.367 million 4.409 billion
- Faroe Islands 49,290 2.477 billion
- Fiji 905,502 5.061 billion
- Grenada 107,825 1.119 billion
- Guatemala 16.91 million 75.62 billion
- Guyana 777,859 3.676 billion
- Haiti 10.98 million 8.408 billion
- Honduras 9.265 million 22.98 billion
- Iceland 338,349 23.91 billion
- Israel 8.712 million 350.9 billion
- Jamaica 2.89 million 14.77 billion
- Korea 51.47 million 1.531 trillion
- Lesotho 2.233 million 2.639 billion
- Lichenstein 37,810 6.289 billion
- Madagascar 25.57 million 11.5 billion
- Mauritius 1.265 million 13.34 billion
- Mozambique 29.67 million 12.33 billion
- Namibia 2.534 million 13.24 billion
- Nicaragua 6.218 million 13.81 billion
- Norway 5.258 million 398.8 billion
- Palestinian Authority 4.817 million 15 billion
- Panama 4.099 million 61.84 billion
- Papua New Guinea 8.251 million 21.09 billion
- Peru 32.17 million 211.4 billion
- Seychelles 95,843 1.486 billion
- South Africa 56.72 million 349.4 billion
- St Kitts and Nevis 55,345 945.9 million
- St Lucia 178,844 1.712 billion
- St Vincent and the Grenadines 109,897 789.6 million
- Suriname 563,402 3.324 billion
- Switzerland 8.42 million 678.9 billion
- Trinidad and Tobago 1.369 million 22.1 billion
- Zimbabwe 16.53 million 17.85 billion
Remainers said the UK would never sign these deals by Brexit day…
The winner of this week’s competition will receive a free copy of this summer’s must have: The Brexit Card Game. Entries in the comments…
