Activity

Warmongering faction as attempt to brake Brexit? Trigger-happy Trump and friends are shooting off their toys as the Commonwealth Summit opens in London, with big trade deals on the cards (with India complaining the visa restrictions are harder on them than on China):
Brexit will allow Canada to negotiate a larger and “more impactful” trade agreement with Britain than its deal with the European Union, Justin Trudeau has said. The Canadian prime minister’s upbeat assessment was not shared by the Indian government, which said that it would not prioritise a free trade agreement with Britain as it leaves the EU. In a show of support for Theresa May before next week’s Commonwealth heads of government meeting, Mr Trudeau promised to ensure that trade with Britain continued seamlessly. In an interview with The Times he reiterated that Canada was willing to open formal trade negotiations with the UK “the day after” Brexit next March. “Trade deals are always challenging but it should be fairly easy for all of us to get to an improved approach on trade between Canada and the UK,” he said. British ministers hope to protect the access of UK exporters by replicating as many of the EU’s 40 or so trade agreements as possible during the 21-month Brexit transition but Mr Trudeau said that Canada was unlikely to back a direct copy of its deal with the bloc.
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) “is obviously a deal that was designed for the entire European Union”, he said. “There will be things in Ceta that are no longer as necessary between Canada and the UK and there’d be other areas where we would be interested in going further.”
Canada hopes to use Ceta, which took seven years to establish, as a starting point for its new deal with the UK. “The rolled-over or specific Ceta arrangement between Canada and the UK is just the floor, or the first step,” Mr Trudeau said. “After that, we very much look forward to negotiating an even better or larger or more impactful deal to encourage the deepening of trade ties between Canada and the UK.” As Whitehall prepares to focus on preserving trading with major partners after Brexit, Mr Trudeau brushed off concern that Canada could push for big concessions in talks. “Canada is firmly of the opinion that the best trade deals are the win-win trade deals,” he said.
India’s deputy high commissioner said that reaching any trade agreement would be “a very tedious process”. “There are a million small things to decide,” Dinesh Patnaik said. “It will take a very long time to do.”
He added that India was still angry about a relaxation of restrictions on visas that had been granted to China but not his country, “a democracy and part of the Commonwealth”. While “every other country is opening up its doors to Indian students, Britain has lost its attraction”, he said.
With world leaders descending on London for the Commonwealth summit, India does not expect concrete results from two meetings Narendra Modi, its prime minister, will hold with Mrs May. “The UK probably doesn’t have any capacity to do anything other than Brexit,” Mr Patnaik said. “Once you get through Brexit we can try.”
Asked last night whether Britain would be ready to open formal trade talks with such countries immediately after Brexit, Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, insisted that his department would continue to train and recruit staff “so we can hit the ground running once we have left the EU”. Dr Fox, who visited Vancouver this week, said there was “huge appetite for increased trade with the UK” in Canada.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/canada-champions-uk-trade-deal-but-india-doubts-grow-cb5rdn6n2