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One hundred days after the materialization of Brexit, Channel trade suffered the biggest crash on record and political confidence among London and Brussels it has been undermined by the UK’s unilateral decisions in Northern Ireland, as well as by the vaccine war.
In January, the first month in which The UK has been separated from the European Union (EU) in 44 years, British exports to the bloc, its main trading partner, fell 40.7% (€ 6,450m) and imports fell 28.8% (€ 7,600m), according to the latest figures from the National Statistics Office . the biggest drop since 1997, when it started collecting such data.
The impact on imports is less because the UK postponed to 2022 controls on goods arriving in the country from the EU, precisely to try to cushion the economic blow of Brexit.
On the other side of the canal, however, the new customs requirements are enforced from December 31 at midnight. As a result, UK food and animal production fell 59% in January from the 2020 monthly average, chemicals a 52% and that of fuel 45%.
How the numbers evolve over the next few months will determine the extent to which this sharp drop responds to a specific correction, due in part to the build-up of stocks in the weeks leading up to the event. Brexes, or if it’s a trend that will continue for the long haul.
The passage between the UK region of Northern Ireland and the island of Great Britain, where new customs requirements have been established, remains one of the main sources of tension after Brexit.
The measure, which was agreed to avoid a border between the two Ireland, which would violate peace agreements in the region, in practice involves internal customs in the region. UK, This has angered Northern Irish trade unionists and sparked protests in recent days.
In an attempt to minimize friction, the British government has unilaterally decided not to apply all controls on lobster until at least October, a step that the EU interprets as a breach of the agreements on the Brexi.
After years of arduous negotiations to agree on UK exit terms, the perception that London attempted to violate the agreed terms weeks after they went into effect has undermined political confidence in the UK government, a problem that can affect the UK government. future to cooperation in various fields.
“Unilaterally extending the grace periods is definitely a technical violation of the Protocol, despite the UK claiming it is trying to make it work and the two sides are still in dialogue,” he said. Efe Patrick Holden, expert in international political economy at the University of Plymouth.
“What bothers the The European Union is that the United Kingdom he rejected offers to extend the transition period (which ended on December 31), but does not admit that he is not ready to implement what he agreed for Ireland of the North, ”he added.
Despite Brexit, both sides of the chain have broad common interests in areas such as climate change and international relations with Russia, China and countries in the Middle East.
However, the fact that London and Brussels They are now economic rivals, coupled with “deep hostility to the EU in the British media and the Conservative Party” can complicate cooperation, which requires “deep commitment and trust” on both sides, Holden stressed.
The program of coronavirus vaccination in the UK It is far ahead of most European countries, which has created in parts of the UK the impression that the independence of community regulators after Brexit has facilitated this success in managing the pandemic.
At the same time, the EU has raised suspicions about the speed of vaccination in the British Isles while pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which has designed a vaccine in collaboration with the Oxford University, does not meet its delivery commitments to the block.
Threats to vaccine exports to the UK they further strained relations and fueled the confrontation with the EU in the British press.
“No, you cannot have our vaccines”, headlined the tabloid “Daily Mail”; “Wait your turn. The selfish EU wants our vaccines,” said the “Daily Express”, in two samples of the rarefied relationship left by the Brits’ abrupt exit from the European club.
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