WTO

This article suggests when we raise our heads from our own obsession about what happens next in terms of our relationship with the EU there are some big beasts circulating with their own agenda for us in the “wider world”…

Britain and the EU have formally informed members of the World Trade Organisation how they plan to split up the EU’s tariff quotas and farm subsidies after Brexit in a plan already rejected by the White House.

In a joint letter, the two parties, who are involved in intense negotiations over Britain’s departure from the EU, said they had come to an agreement on a key aspect of trading relationships with the rest of the world after Brexit.

Under WTO rules, country-specific quotas permit low-tariff imports, such as butter and meat, up to a certain volume, after which higher tariffs can be applied. The joint plan suggests the EU’s existing agricultural quota commitments will be “apportioned” based on historical trade flows, and the current ceilings on support for farmers will be maintained.

After a leak of the letter this month, however, the UK has been told that the arrangement is unacceptable to the US and other WTO members who wish to force the UK to open its market further to their farm products