‘Hard facts’ in Brexit trade deal

May confirms UK would leave EU’s single market, customs union

LONDON, March 3, (Agencies): British Prime Minister Theresa May called Friday for a wide-ranging free trade deal with the EU after Brexit, but admitted it was time to face the “hard facts” about the economic consequences of leaving the bloc.

In a detailed speech just weeks before starting negotiations on the future partnership with Brussels, May confirmed Britain would leave the European Union’s single market and customs union after Brexit in March 2019.

In its place she called for the “broadest and deepest possible agreement, covering more sectors and co-operating more fully than any free trade agreement anywhere in the world today”.

But she acknowledged for the first time that Britain may suffer new trade barriers by severing its formal ties, a move driven by a desire to end mass migration and throw off EU rules.

“I want to be straight with people because the reality is we all need to face up to some hard facts ... In certain ways our access to each other’s markets will be different,” she said.

The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier welcomed the “clarity” on Britain’s position, as well as “a recognition of trade-offs”.

He said her proposals would inform the bloc’s guidelines, which are expected

By contrast, Trump’s recent budget plan — which relies on greater economic growth than most other forecasts and promises deep, unlikely cuts to domestic agencies — says the 2028 deficit could be brought down to less than $400 billion.

The group, which advocates for smaller deficits and curbing federal benefit programs such as Medicare, warns that “these projections show a fiscal situation that is clearly unsustainable.” (AP)

Vote on spectrum auction for 5G:

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have reached agreement to allow for the sale of spectrum to speed up the introduction of nextgeneration 5G wireless networks, congressional leaders said on Friday.

The US House of Representatives will vote on the measure on Tuesday, leaders in both parties said.

Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai on Monday said the regulator plans new auctions of high-band spectrum starting later this year for 5G networks to improve internet services across the United States.

Wireless carriers have spent billions of dollars acquiring spectrum and beginning to develop and test 5G networks, which are expected to be at least 100 times faster than 4G networks and cut latency to less than one thousandth of a second from one hundredth of a second in 4G, the FCC has said.

Pai said he plans to hold an auction of spectrum in the 28 GHz band in November, followed immediately by an auction of spectrum in the 24 GHz band, but must first get congressional approval by May 13 to proceed.

The bill unveiled on Friday includes a technical fix to allow the auction to proceed to allow the FCC to deposit upfront payments from spectrum bidders with the US Treasury. Under current law, the FCC must deposit such payments with private banks in interest-bearing accounts, but regulations make that impossible. (RTRS) to be drawn up next week before being approved by EU leaders at a summit in three week’s time.

In a speech in London, May suggested the new trade deal would include “binding commitments” to agree some regulations such as on state aid and competition.

She repeated that she wanted to end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, insisting there must be an independent arbiter of the agreement.

But in a bid to maintain “as frictionless as possible” trade in goods, May promised to commit to some regulations and minimum standards, while reserving the option for Britain to diverge.

The EU has previously dismissed the bespoke approach as “cherry-picking”, but May pointed out that each of the bloc’s existing trade deals with other countries was slightly different.

May’s Conservative government is divided on how closely Britain should align with the EU, but a leading eurosceptic, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, was quick to back her speech.

The plan would keep close ties but allow Britain “to innovate, to set our own agenda, to make our own laws and to do ambitious free trade deals around the world”, he said on Twitter.

However, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the government of presiding over “20 wasted months”.

“Theresa May has again failed to bring clarity to the negotiations — and worryingly, she admitted that her approach will reduce our access to European markets,” he wrote on Twitter.

EU leaders have been sharply critical of the prime minister’s optimistic view of what she could achieve, but had been pressing for details as the start of formal negotiations comes closer.

Talks on the terms of the withdrawal and a transition period are already underway, and Britain hopes a trade deal can be agreed by the end of the year.

John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, said May had “advanced a plan that the EU will not accept”.

“We are heading for something much more economically damaging — unless she changes her red lines.”

May has ruled out staying in the single market or a customs union with the EU because it would stop Britain signing outside trade deals.

Following May’s speech, Irish premier Leo Varadkar said he remains “concerned that some of the constraints of leaving the customs union and the single market are still not fully recognised”.