Brexit discussion thread XIII (Please read OP before posting)

road_high

road_high wrote: »

Aldi and Lidl have massively done this. It’s infinitely possible. Tariffs are a no no really, make things completely uncompetitive

I remember when they came here first, everything seemed to come from Germany and the continent- took a few years to change focus. Most products seem to be Irish or U.K. made now.

An Ciarraioch

It appears the EU offered the UK a 90-day visa for musicians, artists etc, but Priti Patel was only prepared to offer 30 days in the opposite direction:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-visa-free-work-musicians-eu-brexit-b1784600.html?fbclid=IwAR1wvU-s61ccUdiWKVl6ofhketNuqMfzSS14qQPJYXVG7qMkGVMqQEg4VIc

listermint

An Ciarraioch wrote: »

It appears the EU offered the UK a 90-day visa for musicians, artists etc, but Priti Patel was only prepared to offer 30 days in the opposite direction:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-visa-free-work-musicians-eu-brexit-b1784600.html?fbclid=IwAR1wvU-s61ccUdiWKVl6ofhketNuqMfzSS14qQPJYXVG7qMkGVMqQEg4VIc

Another win for the UK. Triumph in the they need us more mantra .


Ruining careers.

Capt'n Midnight

The French are looking for Covid tests from drivers with UK passports going cross channel or direct from Ireland. Irish drivers or drivers resident in Ireland don't.

Of course its not related to Brexit and isn't political. But some NI hauliers with UK passports might have a different opinion.

Also makes you wonder how much NI traffic will bypass the landbridge and go via Rosslare.

Strazdas

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Not just NI.

EU > GB won't have full checks either until later in the year. Because the systems aren't fully setup yet and won't be until July when they go into stage 3

So Johnny Foreigner knows what they can get away in the meantime.
But plucky British exporters got to face full EU controls on day 1.

What's not being admitted here is that the shambolic Brexit UK regime will in no way be ready in six months time. I've seen estimates that it could take years, not months.

Gerry T

sondagefaux wrote:

UK GIs were EU GIs until 31.12.2020.

Exactly, so they would hace left the EU list after that

sondagefaux wrote:

So any UK GIs on the EU's GI list as of 31.12.2020 are still protected under both GI systems.

There would be zero

Gerry T

fash wrote:

In the withdrawal agreement. Of note even then the EU was never going to "deregister" UK GIs - as the EU takes a philosophical position on this that GIs are good. So given that, why would they remove recognised GIs?

Honestly im no expert, but there is something registering thst i read months back thst the UK didnt secure GI protection. Yes the EU would support this position but they wouldnt do the work for the UK. while im not claiming the UK havent protected thir GI status i havent seen that they have.
I do take your point on board but would like to see how thos pans out

road_high

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

The French are looking for Covid tests from drivers with UK passports going cross channel or direct from Ireland. Irish drivers or drivers resident in Ireland don't.

Of course its not related to Brexit and isn't political. But some NI hauliers with UK passports might have a different opinion.

Also makes you wonder how much NI traffic will bypass the landbridge and go via Rosslare.

That does appear political as much as “health concerns”. No real reason to believe U.K. passport holders are any more risky than Irish ones as carriers of this “new strain”.

minktrapper

Ebay. Bought a couple of items from Ebay. Coming from the UK by An Post address pal. Paid £31sterling for first item. Customs is valuing it as costing €124. Don't know where they got that figure from. I have to pay vat on that amount. Can I appeal this. It is a second hand item.

Opinions please.

Mods. Please move this to the relevant forum if needs be.

Strazdas

road_high wrote: »

That does appear political as much as “health concerns”. No real reason to believe U.K. passport holders are any more risky than Irish ones as carriers of this “new strain”.

Well, don't forget UK citizens are no longer EU citizens and are more akin to visitors from outside Europe. That may be a factor.

Rain Ascending

sondagefaux wrote: »

GRMA Brexiteers. Nice of ye to encourage British chains to buy Irish.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/marks-spencer-may-buy-more-irish-goods-as-it-seeks-ways-to-avoid-tariff-confusion-1.4453608?mode=amp

One very interesting point stood out for me in the above Irish Times article:

Marks & Spencer recently centralised distribution for its businesses in Ireland as a whole in Motherwell in Scotland to streamline this operation.

Just why would you centralize your distribution for Ireland in Scotland any time in the last few years? I suspect that the Irish Times got the role of the Motherwell distribution center from this article, which shows that this was part of M&S's Brexit planning! Looking at the bare shelves in their NI, RoI and French stores, it feels as if something has gone horribly wrong within M&S's basic Brexit scenario planning on the export side.

BTW, if you are interested in rules of origin, follow Anna Jerzewska on Twitter -- she's an expert on this and customs in general. One useful tweet thread from her recently on the topic:
https://twitter.com/AnnaJerzewska/status/1346774398326501376

Triangle

Don't know the biggest issues around brexit.
But as a small business owner the issues I've had ordering from UK sites makes me want to deal with European businesses even more.
Just cables this time, but it's raised a lot of questions on something that should have been easy.

View

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Nature Magazine's summary on BrexitUK will remain in cost neutral Horizon. Any country that gets too much will have to pay it back. It looses Galileo but stays with the Copernicus Earth observation programs. So the UK will get data and some satellite work.

At a cost of £100m the new Turing Scheme will replace Erasmus which used to benefit the economy by £245. The difference being the number on that red bus.

More talks on nuclear, but good news on QC on medicines.



And the one that might bite hard and fast and upset multiple apple carts.

There is no such thing as associate member of Euratom (or the EU). The member states aren’t going to create it just to facilitate Brexiters.

No one forced the U.K. to withdraw from Euratom, nor was such a withdrawal ever mentioned in their referendum campaign.

View

road_high wrote: »

That does appear political as much as “health concerns”. No real reason to believe U.K. passport holders are any more risky than Irish ones as carriers of this “new strain”.

The EU rules apply to all non-EU citizens, unless they come from (a very short list of) very low Covid risk countries, and the U.K. is not on that list.

View

sondagefaux wrote: »

A more prosperous Northern Ireland which is more integrated economically with the republic and wider EU will be easier to reunite with than a basket-case economy with a weak private sector, reliant on subsidies from Britain.

Except, just as a prosperous Ireland would have little reason to vote to re-unite with the U.K., so too a prosperous NI would have little reason to vote to unite with the rest of Ireland.

BorneTobyWilde

minktrapper wrote: »

Ebay. Bought a couple of items from Ebay. Coming from the UK by An Post address pal. Paid £31sterling for first item. Customs is valuing it as costing €124. Don't know where they got that figure from. I have to pay vat on that amount. Can I appeal this. It is a second hand item.

Opinions please.

Mods. Please move this to the relevant forum if needs be.

Are Irish customs on the take, ? wtf

Surely any charges have to be based on the amount spent by you, not some figure some crook in the revenue comes up with.

BorneTobyWilde

Triangle wrote: »

Don't know the biggest issues around brexit.
But as a small business owner the issues I've had ordering from UK sites makes me want to deal with European businesses even more.
Just cables this time, but it's raised a lot of questions on something that should have been easy.

Even if you order stuff in EU the Irish Revenue will try it on and rinse you for a few euros to line their pockets.
Didn't take long for rip off Ireland to spring into action on the back of Brexit

Enzokk

An Ciarraioch wrote: »

It appears the EU offered the UK a 90-day visa for musicians, artists etc, but Priti Patel was only prepared to offer 30 days in the opposite direction:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-visa-free-work-musicians-eu-brexit-b1784600.html?fbclid=IwAR1wvU-s61ccUdiWKVl6ofhketNuqMfzSS14qQPJYXVG7qMkGVMqQEg4VIc

Can anyone figure out what the heck Lord True is trying to say here?

But, in a House of Lords debate on Friday, the Cabinet Office minister Lord True said: “The UK proposed measures that would have allowed musicians to travel and perform in the UK and the EU more easily, without needing work permits.

“Specifically, we proposed including the work done by musicians, artists and entertainers, and their accompanying staff, in the list of permitted activities for short-term visitors.

“In practice, this would have delivered an outcome closer to the UK’s approach to incoming musicians, artists and entertainers, but these proposals were, sadly, rejected by the EU.”

It is now a matter for each EU member state to decide whether to demand work visas, in the absence of a bloc-wide agreement.

Why does it feel like Lord True should be known rather as Lord Obfuscate, as what he seems to be saying is that their wonderful proposal was to offer EU musicians exactly what other 3rd country musicians have currently, instead of better deal (90 days instead of 30 days) the EU offered. Do I have that right?

Because this is the current proposal for musicians into the UK,

From this month, they must, like non-EU artists, apply for visas – to visit for more than 30 days – as well as providing proof of savings and a sponsorship certificate from an event organiser.

Cookie_Monster

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

The French are looking for Covid tests from drivers with UK passports going cross channel or direct from Ireland. Irish drivers or drivers resident in Ireland don't.

Of course its not related to Brexit and isn't political. But some NI hauliers with UK passports might have a different opinion.

Also makes you wonder how much NI traffic will bypass the landbridge and go via Rosslare.

Brexit related or not the fact that they are not looking for tests from everyone BEFORE boarding ferries in either direction is plain stupid and the reason no lockdown will ever work properly for Irl, UK or France.

Going Strong

Here's a Twitter thread concerning the number of Japanese companies in the UK relocating warehousing to the EU.

As the author says, not an immediate change but one which shows that the UK operations of each of these companies will be way down the list when it comes to future investments and expansion by the parent company.


https://twitter.com/pernilleru/status/1347578900050808839

Nody

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

Are Irish customs on the take, ? wtf

Surely any charges have to be based on the amount spent by you, not some figure some crook in the revenue comes up with.

Customs bases it on the declared value; however if they feel the declared value or item type is wrong (for example an camera marked as a 20 EUR gift) they make their own assessment on the actual value accordingly.

prawnsambo

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Brexit related or not the fact that they are not looking for tests from everyone BEFORE boarding ferries in either direction is plain stupid and the reason no lockdown will ever work properly for Irl, UK or France.

Afaik, they are looking for tests in Dover. Drivers being sent back to Manston Airfield holding pen if they don't have one. This was what caused the massive queue and backlog there before Christmas. Haven't heard of any change to this.

minktrapper

Nody wrote: »

Customs bases it on the declared value; however if they feel the declared value or item type is wrong (for example an camera marked as a 20 EUR gift) they make their own assessment on the actual value accordingly.

I bought an item from the US and I emailed them the invoice as it was not included in the parcel. They requested proof of item cost so I sent it to them.

prawnsambo

minktrapper wrote: »

I bought an item from the US and I emailed them the invoice as it was not included in the parcel. They requested proof of item cost so I sent it to them.

Yeah, that's the usual problem. Generally people selling stuff on eBay do not provide an invoice with the goods or in fact any indication of the value of the goods. That leaves it up to customs to assess a value. And if the item comes in its original box (something that happens quite regularly) they'll be assuming it's new and value accordingly. Even assessing a S/H price is problematic for them. And of course if you're using Address Pal, the seller just thinks they're selling to someone in the UK and won't see the need to provide any value declaration.

Bottom line, steer well clear of eBay UK.

CelticRambler

Enzokk wrote: »

Can anyone figure out what the heck Lord True is trying to say here?




Why does it feel like Lord True should be known rather as Lord Obfuscate, as what he seems to be saying is that their wonderful proposal was to offer EU musicians exactly what other 3rd country musicians have currently, instead of better deal (90 days instead of 30 days) the EU offered. Do I have that right?

When I read that yesterday, I decided that it was an artefact of lazy journalism. The sequence of events, as I understand it, is that
(a) behind closed doors the EU proposed their standard 90-day exemption;
(b) the UK said: 30-days like everyone else;
(c) still behind closed doors, the EU said: our territory, our rules, 90 days in each direction or feck off;
(d) the UK said: fcuk musicians (along with business and fishermen and farmers and the DUP ...) and fecked off;
(e) the UK musicians' association saw, after the fact, that they now had no exemption for touring/working in the EU (while EU musicians do have a 30-day exemption in the UK) and brought it to the attention of a local MP.
(f) As a result, Lord True obfuscated in semi-public, and - as one would expect, unless one was an inveterate Brexit-spinner with no concept of actions having consequences - by inventing an alternative truth to cover up his government's ineptitude,
(g) prompted fact-checkers to scrutinise the process, leading to a newsworthy story that it was, after all, the British who buggered the British, not the EU.

CelticRambler

minktrapper wrote: »

Bought a couple of items from Ebay. Coming from the UK by An Post address pal. Paid £31sterling for first item. Customs is valuing it as costing €124. Don't know where they got that figure from.

If the item is still available new and at a relatively high price, Customs will assume you're trying to pull a fast one by saying you bought it second hand. As the importer, it's up to you to provide documentary proof showing how you acquired the item and how much you paid for it.

Incidentally, this applies equally to people moving house - everything you load up in the van to take from GB to your new continental home has to be documented, and EU customs can challenge anything they don't believe is correctly declared; and any antiques or other potential "national treasure" may need a ministerial authorisation for it's removal from the territory. Waving a blue passport at them isn't likely to be sufficient ... :rolleyes:

I don't know if the same Customs are still on the frontlines, but back in the Celtic Tiger days, they got very good at spotting suitcases of brand new clothes and electronics and other stuff being imported as "personal goods" by people who'd been on weekend shopping trips to New York. This isn't Customs "on the take" - they have a responsibility to rest of the EU to show that Ireland isn't a back door into the EU/SM, and with the "tax haven" thing still niggling at the back of many EU minds, now is not the time to be giving a free pass to GB->IE importers.

murphaph

I have to reluctantly agree and I bought a lot of small bits and pieces through parcel wizard in the past, had it redirected to the home place then collected on a trip home and brought back to Germany in a suitcase.

We cannot be seen as a back door into the single market at any level.

Capt'n Midnight

View wrote: »

There is no such thing as associate member of Euratom (or the EU). The member states aren’t going to create it just to facilitate Brexiters.

No one forced the U.K. to withdraw from Euratom, nor was such a withdrawal ever mentioned in their referendum campaign.

Like I said More talks on nuclear, so nothing is 100% confirmed yet.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00009-y

The United Kingdom formally left Euratom on 31 January 2020, although its participation remained unchanged during the transition period. It may be months before a separate agreement for this association is reached, but Chapman says it will be applied retroactively to 1 January, meaning that the United Kingdom’s relationship with European partners in this area should be able continue as before Brexit.

Capt'n Midnight

Triangle wrote: »

Don't know the biggest issues around brexit.
But as a small business owner the issues I've had ordering from UK sites makes me want to deal with European businesses even more.
Just cables this time, but it's raised a lot of questions on something that should have been easy.

There's also the hassle and possible delay if customs decide to stop shipments for VAT / rules of origin stuff / incorrect documentation or valuation.

From the UK side sending stuff abroad is time consuming. From the EU side sending to the UK means registering for VAT in UK etc.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-55318195

She said the trade deal meant shipping orders to customers in Europe involved a lot of extra paperwork: "It is currently adding about five minutes more admin time to each individual pair of jeans we ship - we are hoping that the carriers we use will develop better software to make this process a lot easier."

5 minutes means 90 orders a day would take 7.5 hours to fill in. A full time job.
I'd assume for orders that contained multiple product categories it would take longer.

Capt'n Midnight

CelticRambler wrote: »

This isn't Customs "on the take" - they have a responsibility to rest of the EU to show that Ireland isn't a back door into the EU/SM, and with the "tax haven" thing still niggling at the back of many EU minds, now is not the time to be giving a free pass to GB->IE importers.

Especially given recent history
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/eu-auditors-raise-eyebrows-at-uk-customs-control-competence-1.4045450

The UK owes the EU a hotly contested €2.7 billion over its failure, despite repeated reminders, to collect VAT and excise on a huge, multiyear Chinese textile and footwear import scam. In March 2019, the European Commission referred the case to the Court of Justice."]The UK owes the EU a hotly contested €2.7 billion over its failure, despite repeated reminders, to collect VAT and excise on a huge, multiyear Chinese textile and footwear import scam. In March 2019, the European Commission referred the case to the Court of Justice.

The UK confirmed a year ago that it wouldn't have customs fully setup until July. So there is an easier path for EU -> GB for certain categories.

This is not good for small UK exporters. As they will have to comply to EU rules because they are being fully enforced by EU customs, but not visa versa. It's a cost burden and they won't have full on protectionism for the home market because the full checks may not be imposed on imports from the EU.