Britain needs a new trade deal with the EU. At leadt according to this article from CNN.
If it fails to secure one as part of divorce talks with Brussels, a study published Tuesday predicts that higher prices will cost British households an extra £260 ($345) a year.
The study, produced by the U.K. Trade Policy Observatory and the Resolution Foundation, predicts that 3 million of the hardest-hit families will have to fork out over £500 ($664).
Failing to agree a new trade relationship before leaving the EU in March 2019 would force Britain to trade under rules set by the World Trade Organization.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly said that “no deal is better than bad deal.” But many business groups and many economists disagree.
“The government must rightly continue to prioritize a comprehensive new trade agreement with the EU in order to avoid households having to fork out for a ‘no deal’ outcome,” said Stephen Clarke, an economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation.
The study found that tariffs on dairy products imported from the EU would rise by 45% if no deal is struck, while those on meat products would spike 37%. Clothing, footwear, beverages and tobacco would all see tariff increases of 10%.
The tariffs would translate to price hikes: dairy goods would cost 8% more in Britain, while meat prices would spike by 6%.
Even basic ingredients involve complex supply chains, making them pricier as tariffs accumulate.
Grocers have also warned of price hikes. David Tyler, the chairman of supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, told The Sunday Times that he expects average tariffs of 22% on EU foods.
“The U.K. government must realize that walking away from the negotiating table is the worst possible outcome,” said Ilona Serwicka, a research fellow at the U.K. Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex.
Prices have already gone up in Britain because of the sharp drop in the value of the pound, which has declined 12% against the dollar since the vote in June 2016.
Data published Tuesday showed annual inflation in September was the highest it has been in more than five years.
“Inflation rising up to 3% in September very much keeps the squeeze on consumers, as it undoubtedly marked another month of negative real income growth,” said Howard Archer, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club.
May hopes to negotiate a “transitional period” of roughly two years after leaving the EU, during which current terms of trade would be maintained. Businesses say a transition is needed to protect the British economy from the shock of a clean break.
The EU says that sufficient progress must be made on the divorce settlement before future terms of trade with Britain are discussed. Negotiations appear to be at a standstill, however.
Goods and services worth over £500 billion ($656 billion) a year are currently traded between Britain and the EU.
Source: CNN
I have always loved giving speeches and making presentations. It is one of my favourite moments in life. I have made presentations all around the world, the more people in the audience the better. I have spoken om fromt of 2500 people in Lissabon and 3000 in Shanghai. Loved it.
However I also know that some people hate it.
Bernard Marr has written some advise on speeches that I fully endorse.
Did you know more people fear public speaking than death? Perhaps fear is what causes people to default to unhelpful and filler comments during a presentation. I do a lot of public speaking and go to many events each month and over time I have picked up some things people say during their presentations that I believe you should avoid. While I can’t help you knock out the fear, here are my top 11 things to not say during a presentation.
1. “I’ll keep this short.”
First, if you say this, nobody will believe you. Second, if your presentation is informative and inspiring, length really doesn’t matter.
2. “I have a lot of information to go over.”
Note: This is NOT how to get your audience excited about your presentation. Warning your audience that you have a lot of information to go over induces immediate yawns.
3. “Hello, can you hear me?”
Test out the audio well before your audience arrives. You should already know that yes, in fact, your audience can hear you because you and the tech gurus tested it before your audience arrived.
4. “I didn’t have much time to prepare.”
And now you want them to hang on your every word? It’s not going to happen with such an uninspiring intro. You’re also disrespecting the attendees’ time by telling them that you aren’t bringing them your best.
5. “And these are my colleagues”
While it is admirable to show who else is on your team and who you work with, but a one-after-one intro is always welcome, you don’t really need to let the cat out of the bag about your nerves. It can cause people to prejudge your presentation and tune out.
6. “Um, I’ll have to read this slide to you because the font is really small.”
Presentation slides shouldn’t have dense text on them, nor should you read slides to the audience. And, you should always practice your presentation and know in advance of giving it live that there are problems with the visuals you plan to use.
7. “Um” and other filler words
This is certainly a hard habit to break, but practice makes perfect to eliminate filler words such as “uh,” “like” and “you know” from your presentation. They distract from your delivery.
8. “I’m very tired” or another excuse
Never start your presentation with an excuse. The audience just wants to get your very best, whatever that is for you on that day.
9. “Don’t take notes. I’ll post the presentation online later.”
Thank you for making the presentation available to others later, but it’s not your place to police how people interact with your presentation. It’s possible that they want to write down a thought that occurred to them as you present. Allow them to write, doodle, take pictures or notes to their heart’s content.
10. “I’m out of time, but I’ll just run through these 12 slides really fast.”
Worthwhile or waste of time? I say it’s the latter. Practice is key to avoiding this situation. Remember, focus on your message and make sure you deliver it. Getting through all the slides is not a requirement if you give the audience what they need to receive your message.
11. “Any questions?”
You should control the close, and it should not be an open invite for your audience to ask questions. Often they won’t have any or they won’t be on point with the lasting impression you want them to walk away with. You can ask for questions at other points in your presentation, but save the last comment for you to close and close strong with your most important point.
I hope next time you give a presentation, you avoid saying these 11 things. What have you heard people say time and time again when giving presentations that you wish the presenters would avoid?
House of Commons has last Friday, 17 November, published a paper on ‘Ways and Means resolution on the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) bill’.
The summary says that the paper was prepared for the Ways and Means resolutions relating to the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Bill. These resolutions are before the House of Commons on Monday 20 November 2017. Ways and Means resolutions The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Bill
The Government has announced its intention to bring in a customs bill – the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Bill. This will include measures relating to customs, VAT and excise.
The Government set out its approach to customs in a position paper, Future customs arrangements, published in August. A Customs White Paper was published in October. The Government has already published a Trade Bill which contains provisions on areas closely related to those in this Bill. Most law relating to customs is contained the EU’s Union Customs Code (UCC) and its delegated and implementing acts. The UCC is an EU Regulation which is directly applicable in the UK. EU law also provides the framework for VAT and excise rules. The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Bill will allow the UK to operate a standalone customs, VAT and excise system after Brexit. Legislation is needed regardless of whether the UK reaches an agreement with the EU on customs. The Bill will allow for the possibility of no deal being reached.
The Customs White Paper said that the Bill will include a number of delegated powers. Customs are particularly relevant to trade across the Irish border. The Government has said it wishes to avoid physical border infrastructure, such as border posts. No agreement has yet been reached with the EU about how this can be achieved.
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