
The UK needs to extend its EU transition period - partingshots
https://www.ft.com/content/cf46dec4-9aa1-11ea-adb1-529f96d8a00b
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partingshots
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In less than five weeks, the UK and EU must decide whether to extend beyond
the end of this year the post-Brexit transition period that grants Britain
continued frictionless trade with the bloc. Boris Johnson has been adamant
that he will not seek to prolong it. This may still be a tactic. Yet with the
July 1 deadline for agreeing an extension almost upon us there is no sign of
progress towards a permanent new trade deal. This week’s publication of
proposed UK texts, and the response, show both sides are still haggling in the
bazaar. There is disingenuousness and unreality in the two partners’
depictions of their respective positions.

Even before the pandemic, the goal for a new trade deal by the year-end seemed
ambitious. But there is a more pressing reason for the prime minister to slow
the rush to completion. The UK’s stated plan will see significant new
regulatory burdens placed upon British exporters and importers. The decision
not to enter a customs union and refusal to sign up to legally enforceable
common standards will place new costs on UK businesses, just when many are
already fighting for survival because of coronavirus. Michael Gove, the
cabinet office minister, has said that deal or no, firms will need to hire up
to 50,000 new customs agents to manage the extra paperwork.

Arguing in favour of an extension is not an attempt to thwart Brexit. The UK’s
withdrawal from the EU has already happened. The British public has spoken
twice on the issue, in the 2016 in-out referendum and then in the decisive
victory it handed to Mr Johnson in the 2019 election. The prime minister has a
mandate to deliver in the way his government decides — but not to take steps
that would compound the economic damage caused by the pandemic.

Mr Johnson argues that deadlines focus the mind, though this does not mean the
deal struck will be any better for the UK. The fundamental power imbalance in
the talks remains.

The government has spun a myth around the last months of negotiations prior to
exit in which Mr Johnson faced down Brussels. As his constant wriggling to
avoid meeting his treaty obligations with regard to Northern Ireland shows,
this is not the case. In truth, the prime minister agreed to weaken the
integrity of the UK to secure a deal.

The immediate issue for the UK, however, is the extra cost to business and the
continued uncertainty. Some Brexit hardliners argue the added costs will be
lost in the wider economic malaise caused by Covid-19. This is not a serious
argument. For firms struggling to rebuild, any new cost could be one too many.

Delay does carry some costs. Britain would have to make further contributions
to the EU budget and be bound for longer by its rules. Extending talks with
Brussels might also slow trade deals with others. But this is a price worth
paying for a little longer.

A delay need not undermine the UK negotiating position nor arm those who still
wish Brexit was not happening. This government has time to complete the job.
But with the chancellor Rishi Sunak predicting a “severe recession” the
economy must come first. The new rules will hit business and exports. Civil
service resources are being diverted to no-deal planning when there are more
pressing issues.

The need now, as Mr Johnson has told cabinet colleagues since his election
victory, is to show maturity and stop fighting old battles. Though many fear
the consequences of Brexit, there are no longer Remainers and Leavers. There
is only a British economy facing a dire recession. The government needs to
give it a break.

