We're technically covering two weeks as I was on my holidays. Only a few things happened of significance in the last fortnight, but they were very intriguing developments indeed. A big one was Nissan committing to continue their UK production and even upgrade it to form a super-plant in Sunderland, following meetings at No. 10. So what changed their mind? The second big one was that after being derailed by the region of Wallonia just days before, the EU and Canada signed CETA. What happened in those few days? Thirdly, after previously suggesting that Brexit would cause massive trade disruption and negotiations with the WTO would be really difficult, the head of the WTO Robert Azevedo last week said that Brexit would not cause any trade disruption and that the process would be "fast and smooth". Why did he change his tune?
Elsewhere, Tony Blair called for a second referendum, John McDonnell said breakfast instead of Brexit three times in one speech, Mark Carney got the backing of the PM and Apple increased the cost of Macbooks.
Elsewhere, Tony Blair called for a second referendum, John McDonnell said breakfast instead of Brexit three times in one speech, Mark Carney got the backing of the PM and Apple increased the cost of Macbooks.
reading list
The Nissan development is an interesting one. With a variety of people speculating exactly what might have been said. Faisal Islam believes that this is a sign that we are staying in the customs union. Ryan Bourne at the IEA thinks that the government may be looking for sector-based agreements. Richard North argues the development is the clearest sign yet that the PM intends to keep us in the single market and that "hard Brexit" is off the table.
The government began to crack under pressure to reveal exactly what was promised, with Greg Clark firstly telling us that there was no cheque book involved in the assurances. Clark later had a rough time with Andrew Marr, further revealing that a promise had been made of no tariff increases for the automotive industry. The signals then, point towards a sector-by-sector approach to negotiations. Rowena Mason writes in the Guardian of Nick Clegg's assertion that this approach could lead to a big bill for the taxpayer. Wolfgang Munchau says in the FT that the Nissan decision is a clear sign of an interim period in the Brexit process, showing us the path forward.
A few interesting articles about the pound, not from last week, but relevant in the current debate over whether the devaluation is good or bad. George Soros penned a piece in the Guardian before the referendum correctly predicting that the pound would fall, and argued that we would all be worse off for it. Bernard Connolly, the economist who resisted the creation of the Euro whilst working at the European Commission, wrote a rebuttal of Soros' piece for MoneyWeek on the 22nd June arguing that while the pound will fall, it would not be a bad thing. More recently, the Bruegel group produced an article for CapX looking at the various perspectives on the issue. All worth a read.
Donald Tusk implied in a speech recently that if we reach the end of the A50 negotiations and are not happy, we could end the process there and essentially stop Brexit. The legalities of this are very unclear, as Jolyon Maugham spells out over on his blog.
Finally, Brexiteer Sam Hooper has a brilliant rant on his blog. Arguing that whilst he does not regret his decision, the politicians and poltical system of this generation are far from suited to make the best of the Brexit.
Normal service resumed next week.
alex.davies@gmchamber.co.uk
@GMCC_Alex
The government began to crack under pressure to reveal exactly what was promised, with Greg Clark firstly telling us that there was no cheque book involved in the assurances. Clark later had a rough time with Andrew Marr, further revealing that a promise had been made of no tariff increases for the automotive industry. The signals then, point towards a sector-by-sector approach to negotiations. Rowena Mason writes in the Guardian of Nick Clegg's assertion that this approach could lead to a big bill for the taxpayer. Wolfgang Munchau says in the FT that the Nissan decision is a clear sign of an interim period in the Brexit process, showing us the path forward.
A few interesting articles about the pound, not from last week, but relevant in the current debate over whether the devaluation is good or bad. George Soros penned a piece in the Guardian before the referendum correctly predicting that the pound would fall, and argued that we would all be worse off for it. Bernard Connolly, the economist who resisted the creation of the Euro whilst working at the European Commission, wrote a rebuttal of Soros' piece for MoneyWeek on the 22nd June arguing that while the pound will fall, it would not be a bad thing. More recently, the Bruegel group produced an article for CapX looking at the various perspectives on the issue. All worth a read.
Donald Tusk implied in a speech recently that if we reach the end of the A50 negotiations and are not happy, we could end the process there and essentially stop Brexit. The legalities of this are very unclear, as Jolyon Maugham spells out over on his blog.
Finally, Brexiteer Sam Hooper has a brilliant rant on his blog. Arguing that whilst he does not regret his decision, the politicians and poltical system of this generation are far from suited to make the best of the Brexit.
Normal service resumed next week.
alex.davies@gmchamber.co.uk
@GMCC_Alex
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