‘Cuts to no-deal Brexit tariffs don’t go far’

Bloomberg

Road hauliers said the UK government’s decision to reduce the tariffs it plans to impose on imported trucks following a no-deal Brexit doesn’t go far enough.
On Tuesday, the Department for International Trade said it will impose a 10% levy on imported heavy goods vehicles instead of the 22% it had initially planned.
The announcement came as part of a wider overhaul of duties that will see higher charges imposed on bio-ethanol as well as new ones on clothing to protect domestic producers if Britain crashes out of the European Union.
“There should be no additional financial penalty on buying new vehicles,” James Hookham, deputy chief executive officer of the Freight Transport Association, said in an e-mailed statement. “Operators need incentives to replace trucks quicker, not penalties to hinder their purchase.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised the UK will leave the EU on October 31 without a divorce agreement if necessary — triggering the biggest upheaval in the country’s trading arrangements in a generation. A hard Brexit would subject Britain to the import duties the EU imposes on non-members, so the government is readying its own temporary levies to level the playing field with competitors in the bloc.
A breakthrough in the talks, due to continue in Brussels on Tuesday, looks increasingly unlikely. The UK government is preparing for the negotiations to collapse, a move for which it will blame Ireland and EU leaders, according to a text message from one of the prime minister’s officials reported by the Spectator magazine.
The levies cover hundreds of products ranging from food to fertiliser that currently enter Britain tariff-free. According to the Department for International Trade, 88% of total imports by value will still be able to enter the UK without being subject to duties. The department said it will start a review of the levies on Brexit day, allowing it to make changes to them in future.
“Our temporary tariff regime will support the UK economy as a whole, helping British businesses to trade and opening up opportunities for business to import the best goods from around the world at the best prices for British consumers,” Trade Minister Conor Burns said.

Ireland sets aside $1.3b to counter no-deal Brexit
Bloomberg

Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe laid out a 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) plan to counter the impact of the UK tumbling out of the European Union without a divorce deal.
Sketching out the 2020 budget in Dublin on Tuesday, Donohoe said a no-deal Brexit is now the government’s “central assumption,” as tensions between the UK and the EU mounted over the Irish border question.
“This does not mean that No Deal is inevitable,” Donohoe said. “But equally we stand ready if it does happen.”
The urgency to come up with Brexit contingency measures has become more acute since the UK’s new proposals failed to break a deadlock over what will happen to the Irish border. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Germany’s Angela Merkel a deal is essentially impossible on Tuesday.
“In the event of a no-deal, there will be businesses who will need very rapid support to solve cash-flow challenges but there can be no expectation that this becomes a long-term source of support,” said Neil Gibson, EY chief economist. “The money must be used to buy time.”
Ireland is widely seen as the country most vulnerable to such a scenario after the UK itself. The budget plan assumes the economy will grow by 0.7% compared with 3.3% should Britain leave with an accord to secure ongoing trade. A no-deal could cost 85,000 Irish jobs, the government has said.
The threat to Irish prosperity comes after the economy has only now fully recovered from the European debt crisis. While the domestic industries which are most vulnerable to a no-deal Brexit account for 11% of total exports, they are responsible for more than half of all direct employment of Irish exporters, employers group IBEC says.