What happens if UK takes legal action over post-Brexit fishing row with France?

Published

3 years ago

November 2, 2021

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The French government has stepped back from a threat to impose disruptive port checks on lorries and boats after the UK threatened to take legal action in a row over post-Brexit fishing licences.

Key talks between the two sides will take place later this week aimed at resolving the disagreement, but the risk of further escalation remains.

Sky News examines what is behind the row between the UK and France and what measures London could take if the impasse rumbles on.

What is the dispute about?

Under the terms of the Brexit trade deal, which came into force on 1 January, EU access to UK waters and UK access to EU waters is now managed through a licensing system for fishing vessels.

The current row erupted after the UK authorities refused to give licences to some French fishing vessels to operate in UK waters because they believed they did not meet the requirements.

According to the French government, the UK has only issued half the fishing licences that Paris believes it is entitled to.

Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky News last week that the UK has issued post-Brexit licences to 1,700 vessels, including 750 French fishing boats, which amounts to 98% of applicants.

But the row deepened when the Cornelis Gert Jan scallop trawler was detained by French authorities last Thursday near the port of Le Havre.

The owners of the British vessel denied French claims that it did not have the correct licence to fish in French waters and said the Cornelis was being used as a “pawn” in the wider UK-France fishing dispute.

France initially said that if the UK did not grant more licences for its fishing vessels it would, from Tuesday, block its ports, carry out security checks on British vessels, reinforce controls of lorries to and from the UK, reinforce customs and hygiene controls, and raise tariffs.

However, Paris has stepped back from introducing these measures.

Downing Street says talks will take place with France on Wednesday about the situation, as well as other “issues important to the UK-EU relationship, including the Northern Ireland Protocol”.

What are dispute resolution measures?

It is against this backdrop that the UK has threatened to take legal action.

The prospect was raised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week and repeated by the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in a Sky News interview on Monday.

The foreign secretary set a 48-hour deadline for the fishing dispute to be resolved, although it’s not clear if that deadline still stands in light of recent moves from Paris.

If legal action were to be taken, this would involve the UK triggering the dispute resolution measures contained in the Brexit trade deal, officially known as the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

The measures are designed to be used when one side feels that the other is in breach of the TCA.

Initially, this would mean a 30-day period of consultation between the two sides which can be extended if both parties agree.

The aim of this first step is to resolve any disagreement through dialogue.

But if a solution cannot be found, the complainant can progress things further and ask for an independent arbitration tribunal to be set up.

This would be made up of three members: one nominated by the UK, one put forward by the EU and a jointly-agreed chair.

The tribunal would then rule within 130 days of being set up, although an interim report would be issued earlier.

One side can ask for this timeline to be sped up, which would see it cut in half.

Tribunal rulings are legally binding and if a side is found to have breached the agreement they have 30 days to set out how they will comply.

Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said of the process: “In terms of the legal mechanisms we are very much talking about a process here that could drag on for a while.”

What happens if one side does not comply?

The other party can ask for compensation or suspend certain obligations contained in the agreement in areas like trade, aviation, road transport and fisheries.

The tribunal can be asked to rule on whether the suspension is appropriate, while the suspension should be rescinded if the other side then decides to follow its ruling.

There are also specific steps that one side can take in relation to fishing.

What measures can be taken on fishing?

One side could decide to entirely suspend access to its waters and scrap the preferential tariff agreement that applies to fishery products.

Again, an arbitration tribunal could end up getting involved, with it ruling if the measure is a proportionate response.

The UK, or indeed France, could choose to go further and apply tariffs on fisheries and non-fisheries products or even suspend elements of the TCA relating to trade and road transport.

Either side can also decide to bin the agreement on fisheries with a notice period of nine months.

What would the impact be on UK-EU relations long-term?

According to Sam Lowe: “If the UK feels the diplomatic route has been exhausted, proceeding with dispute resolution within the confines of the TCA is the proper way to go about things.

“At least in the TCA there are rules, processes to be followed; much better than spilling out into an unconstrained trade war with both the EU and UK free to do whatever they want.”

However, he warned that a simmering dispute could have a wider impact, adding: “These disputes do have political ramifications: they chip away at the good will necessary to reach a compromise on other outstanding issues such as Northern Ireland.”

Are the dispute resolution mechanisms different when it comes to Northern Ireland?

Yes.

The UK and EU are currently locked in talks over potential changes to the protocol, which is designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

The protocol is part of the withdrawal agreement between the two sides and is separate from the TCA.

If these talks break down or do not prove fruitful, either side has the option of activating Article 16 of the protocol.

This states that if the protocol is causing “serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties that are liable to persist”, or leading to a “diversion of trade” then either the UK or EU can introduce “appropriate safeguard measures” to tackle the problems.

Brussels at one stage proposed using Article 16 to stop COVID vaccine exports from the EU moving to Great Britain from Northern Ireland, but stepped back from this after a backlash.

Opponents of the protocol in Northern Ireland have been calling on the UK government to invoke Article 16 to stop checks and controls on goods.

Politics

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao to advise Kyrgyzstan on blockchain tech

Published

6 hours ago

April 4, 2025

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Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao to advise Kyrgyzstan on blockchain tech

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao will begin advising the Kyrgyz Republic on blockchain and crypto-related regulation and tech after signing a memorandum of understanding with the country’s foreign investment agency.

“I officially and unofficially advise a few governments on their crypto regulatory frameworks and blockchain solutions for gov efficiency, expanding blockchain to more than trading,” the crypto entrepreneur said in an April 3 X post, adding that he finds this work “extremely meaningful.”

His comments came in response to an earlier X post from Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Zhaparov announcing that Kyrgyzstan’s National Investment Agency (NIA) had signed a memorandum with CZ to provide technical expertise and consulting services for the Central Asian country.

The NIA is responsible for promoting foreign investments and assisting international companies in identifying business opportunities within the country.

“This cooperation marks an important step towards strengthening technological infrastructure, implementing innovative solutions, and preparing highly qualified specialists in blockchain technologies, virtual asset management, and cybersecurity,” Zhaparov said.

The Kyrgyzstan president added: “such initiatives are crucial for the sustainable growth of the economy and the security of virtual assets, ultimately generating new opportunities for businesses and society as a whole.”

Kyrgyzstan, which officially changed its name from the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to the Kyrgyz Republic in 1993, is a mountainous, land-locked country.

It is considered well-suited for crypto mining operations due to its abundant renewable energy resources, much of which is underutilized.

Over 30% of Kyrgyzstan’s total energy supply comes from hydroelectric power plants, but only 10% of the country’s potential hydropower has been developed, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

CZ has met with several other state officials in Asia

Malaysia also recently tapped CZ for guidance on crypto-related matters, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim meeting him personally in January.

CZ has also met with officials in the UAE and Bitcoin-stacking country Bhutan — however, it isn’t clear what those meetings entailed.

CZ’s latest pursuits come a little over six months after he was released from a four-month prison sentence in the US for violating several anti-money laundering laws.

Since being released, CZ has made investments in blockchain tech, artificial intelligence and biotechnology companies.

CZ also recently donated 1,000 BNB (BNB) — worth almost $600,000 — to support earthquake relief efforts in Thailand and Myanmar after the natural disaster in late April.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Politics

Trump has acted for his country, I will act in Britain’s interests, says Starmer

Published

12 hours ago

April 3, 2025

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Trump's tariffs are about something more than economics: power

Donald Trump has acted for his country and I will act in Britain’s interests, Sir Keir Starmer has said after the US president imposed 10% tariffs on UK goods.

The prime minister told business chiefs at an early morning meeting in Downing Street: “Last night the president of the United States acted for his country, and that is his mandate.

“Today, I will act in Britain’s interests with mine.”

Politics latest: Starmer says UK will react to tariffs with ‘cool and calm head’

Mr Trump announced sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, with the UK getting off relatively lightly with 10% tariffs – branded “kind reciprocal” by the president – compared with China, which will have to pay 54% tariffs and 20% for the EU.

A previously announced 25% tariff on British car imports to the US came into effect at 5am on Thursday.

Sir Keir said the government is moving “to the next stage of our plan” after negotiations failed to fend off any tariffs ahead of Wednesday’s announcement.

He promised any decisions “will be guided only by our national interest, in the interests of our economy, in the interests of businesses around this table, in the interests of putting money in the pockets of working people”.

“Clearly, there will be an economic impact from the decisions the US has taken, both here and globally,” he told the business leaders.

“But I want to be crystal clear: we are prepared, indeed one of the great strengths of this nation is our ability to keep a cool head.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the Commons on Thursday the government is considering retaliatory measures and requested British businesses let him know what the tariff implications will be for them.

An “indicative list of potential products” that could be targeted was later published, with 8,364 categories covering about 27% of UK imports from the US.

Earlier, Mr Reynolds told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast his “job is not done” when it comes to negotiating a trade deal

Mr Reynolds refused to say if the tariffs might cause a global recession and said the UK has safeguards in place to ensure it is not flooded with goods that would have gone to other countries.

“We’ll take any powers we need to protect the British people and the British economy from that,” he said.

“What we have directly within our power, alongside that is, of course, the ability to negotiate a better deal in the national interest for the UK. That’s been our approach to date and we’ll continue with that.”

UK will be template for other nations’ deals

The business secretary also suggested if the UK is successful in negotiating a deal with the US “there’ll be a template there” for other countries to “resolve some of these issues”.

He reiterated statements he and the PM have made over the past few days as he said: “America is a friend, America’s our principal ally.

“Our relationship is an incredibly strong economic one, but also a security one, a political one as well.”

Government ‘very slow’ to start talks

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp told Sky News the government had been “very slow” to start negotiating a free trade agreement with the US, and they should have started when Mr Trump was elected in November, even though he did not get sworn in until the end of January.

He said the UK being hit by a lower tariff than the EU was “one of the benefits of Brexit”.

However, he said the 25% tariff on car exports to the US is “very, very serious” and the global impact is “bad news for our economy”.

Relief in Westminster – but concessions to Trump to come

It has been quite a rollercoaster for the government, where they went from the hope that they could avoid tariffs, that they could get that economic deal, to the realisation that was not going to happen, and then the anticipation of how hard would the UK be hit.

In Westminster tonight, there is actual relief because the UK is going to have a 10% baseline tariff – but that is the least onerous of all the tariffs we saw President Trump announce.

He held up a chart of the worst offenders, and the UK was well at the bottom of that list.

No 10 sources were telling me as President Trump was in the Rose Garden that while no tariffs are good, and it’s not what they want, the fact the UK has tariffs that are lower than others vindicates their approach.

They say it’s important because the difference between a 20% tariff and a 10% tariff is thousands of jobs.

Where to next? No 10 says it will “keep negotiating, keep cool and calm”, and reiterated Sir Keir Starmer’s desire to “negotiate a sustainable trade deal”.

“Of course want to get tariffs lowered. Tomorrow we will continue with that work,” a source added.

Another source said the 10% tariff shows that “the UK is in the friendlies club, as much as that is worth anything”.

Overnight, people will be number-crunching, trying to work out what it means for the UK. There is a 25% tariff on cars which could hit billions in UK exports, in addition to the blanket 10% tariff.

But despite this being lower than many other countries, GDP will take a hit, with forecasts being downgraded probably as we speak.

I think the government’s approach will be to not retaliate and try to speed up that economic deal in the hope that they can lower the tariffs even further.

There will be concessions. For example, the UK could lower the Digital Services Tax, which is imposed on the UK profits of tech giants. Will they loosen regulation on social media companies or agricultural products?

But for now, there is relief the UK has not been hit as hard as many others.

Politics

Trump’s tariffs will have an impact before too long – but how will the UK respond?

Published

12 hours ago

April 3, 2025

admin

Trump's tariffs will have an impact before too long – but how will the UK respond?

The list has landed.

More than 400 pages of thousands of goods that could be affected by reciprocal tariffs against the US.

Everything from fresh domestic ducks to sea-going dredgers makes the cut; most symbolic, however, are iconic American items like jeans, motorcycles and whiskey.

Would Donald Trump stand for a levy on Levi’s? It’s not the first time this battle has played out.

When the US president announced tariffs on steel and aluminium in his first term, the EU responded with its own – including a symbolic 25% tax on American whiskey.

At the time, the UK, then an EU member, followed suit.

But as the UK tries to carve its own path outside the bloc, vindicated by the baseline 10% tariffs imposed instead of the EU’s rate of 20%, the aim is to avoid retaliation.

The government want us to know “all options are on the table” – but that is not how they want this to play out.

“This is not a short-term tactical exercise,” the prime minister said this morning.

Despite the business secretary’s best efforts during his recent trip to Washington to try to secure a UK tariffs carveout, no deal was reached in time.

Mr Trump wanted his big bang, board brandishing moment; carveouts for certain countries would have softened the impact of his speech.

But with 90-plus countries on the tariff billboard, how far along the queue is any UK deal?

And how much are we willing to give? Will the sensitive subject of chlorinated chicken be on the table? What of the agreement to cut taxes on big tech companies that Mr Trump wants?

Lots of questions. The day after the surreal night before is too soon to know all the answers, but this is about politics as much as it is about economics.

As the prime minister launched Labour’s local election campaign in Derbyshire today, he talked about potholes, high streets and school meals. Every question I heard was about tariffs.

Decisions made across the Atlantic are looming large. Tariffs may not directly sway many votes in the local elections, but the consequences for Rachel Reeves’s fiscal headroom and the amount of money she has to spend, or save, will have an impact before too long.