Granted, it’s not another 40 horrors list but Mr Steerpike was struck by Paragraph 79 of the EU/UK Political Declaration:
‘The future relationship must ensure open and fair competition. Provisions to ensure this should cover state aid, competition, social and employment standards, environmental standards, climate change, and relevant tax matters, building on the level playing field arrangements provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement and commensurate with the overall economic relationship.’
That would suggest that the starting point for the supposedly final UK-EU trade deal relationship is… wait for it…. the backstop. The one that we’re never supposed to use. That is why Article 132 of Withdrawal Agreement both takes extension of Transition out of our hands (it has to be a joint decision) and makes it time limited to 1st July 2020 with the option of a two year extension.
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