Wanted - Chief Trade Negotiator

The economist reported that Britain's Department for International Trade (DIT) is looking to hire a position to secure trade deals inside and outside of the EU just after the 2019 breakup withy the EU.   The DIT has been rapidly growing trade negotiators.  They have increased from about 50 to over 200 since the vote to leave the EU last summer.  One area that is going to be tough to navigate is agriculture.  The UK will not be under the EU's  tariffs on food imports.  The article cites the example of oranges having a complicated protection for Spain that the UK no longer has to comply to. Once independent they can go elsewhere in the market for a 170M yr fruit import that is not grown in the UK at all. The flip side Australia and New Zealand will want to import more beef and lamb to the UK.   That has UK farmers very concerned, especially in Whales where more market competition from New Zealand could ruin their lamb industry.  Check out what else the article has to say Trading Places -Where should Britain strike it's first post -Brexit trade deals?
-Sacha B

Valentine's Day Cost May be Higher in Uk Next Year

Ahh...Nothing goes better with Valentines Day dinner that a toast of champagne or Prosecco. Well that glass may be a bit more costly on this day, next year. The UK's Wine and Spirit Association has recently been pushing a raise of 5 percent on all champagne and Prosecco sales in the following year. They have been citing inflation and a weaker pound as the primary reasons for the rise in cost. When compared in this article to the same bottle of Prosecco being drank in France, you can slowly start to see why they are paying a much heftier fee for the glass full of stars. With an industry that provides the UK with over 270,000 jobs, many civilians are urging the prime minister to add the wine and spirits division into his upcoming budget Since the Brexit, all imported alcohols and wines have seen a rise in cost and are steadily rising every month. With the industry seeing a 1 percent rise in cost last month, there is only one thing for wholesalers and wine lovers to do...bottoms up.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/brexit-latest-news-prosecco-champagne-wine-prices-rise-2017-higher-inflation-weak-pound-sterling-a7578971.html

Prime Minister's Theresa May's plan for leaving the EU

Prime Minister May spoke on Jan 17th about how the UK  plans to leave the EU over the next two years.  So far there appears to be some clear tensions within the UK's government about immigration and our topic of international business.  The UK is definitely committed to leaving a single market and pursuing their own free trade agreements.  There is concern that by doing this it could make the UK a "bargain basement"  for trade deals.  Mrs. Mays plan does not go into much detail or use specifics yet, it is said that is due to national security.  However, there is motivation for the EU to work the UK because of the Brittish market and many relationships it already holds.New York Times, Jan 17th 2017  -Sacha B

Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU

There are a lot of questions about BREXIT.

• What is BREXIT?
• What exactly does the EU do?
• Who voted to leave the EU and why? 
• How will the EU breakup 43-years of treaties?

All of these are great questions.  I found this article easy to read and it gave me a solid overview of what to expect. We will try to post some definitions and maps this week to help as well.  I invite you to read this article as a jumping off point on this subject. More to come...

Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU-BBC

-Sacha B