The Brexit onion

“There is so much complexity,” Adam Marshall, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, told Bloomberg. “It’s like an onion — the more you peel, the more you cry.”

Just because something is invisible, doesn't mean it isn't there.

The Single Market was created in 1992, with most the pressure coming from the UK and Margaret Thatcher, creating a single trading area where no added paperwork was needed to sell and transport goods, services and money from one member state to another through any other member state.

This is the Single Market.

To have the benefits, like friction-free trade, you need to be a member of the Single Market. Not having access to it, but a member.

There is strong evidence that many in Government and Brexiteers did not understand this, and still think that a trade agreement that is quota and tariff free is being a member of the Single Market. It isn't. Never was.

Johnson was stating as recently as December that there would be no paperwork, no red tape, with his deal.

So, in order to get your goods, services and capital into the Single Market, like any third country, the UK, or Great Britain, as its different for NI, our businesses will have to prove that what they provide is in compliance with the EU's regulations, to their satisfaction. And that means paperwork and checking. So much checking. And if the paperwork is not correct, or they pick up a problem, then the goods, services of capital does not enter.

Dozens of trucks are waiting in Calais to be allowed to enter the SM, oe truck loaded with what was once fresh pork, has been there since the beginning of the year. Nearly three weeks.

Brexiteers, Ministers and Vote Leave dismissed warning on this as project fear or something not to worth worrying about, as the EU needed us more than we needed them, and so on. Turns out experts do know what they are talking about after all.

These are mostly not teething problems, but issues caused by Brexit itself, not helped by the almost total ack of preparation on the British side of the North and Irish Seas and the fact that the details of how the Border Operating Model would work wasn't published until 6 hours before it came into force.

No time to prepare, no time to train, no time to test. It really is amazing things haven't been worse. But there are not enough customs agents, those we do have are working all the hours they can to facilitate what trade there is. But with every passing day, British companies are losing busness to EU ones, never to win them back, as long as the current border rules and regulations are in place.

A hard border is the natuaral state of things, the default position. Unless other arrangements and agreements are made. Without them, the shutters come down and the clipboards come out.

The UK and our businesses, importers and exporters got used to the un-natual state of our borders, and some believed this was how things would be after Brexit.

That has now been revealed as the lie it always was.

Dozens of the UK's biggest music stars, popular and classical, have called on the Government to negoiate changes to the working visa arrangements in the EU for artists. Despite Ministers claiming it was the EU that rejected this, the Culture Minister said in the next sentence yesterday that allowing EU artists the same freedoms to come and work here for three months visa-free was not compatible with taking back control.

A few years ago, The Who lead singer, Roger Daltry, was asked about Brexit and how it would affect groups, he swore and said Brexit would be fine and was scaremongering. Turns out Roger Was Fooled (Again) by lies from Johnson and other Ministers.

The new rules will not affect grops such as The Who, who have tour managers and people who do this, but for small groups who have been used to jumping in a van and driving to France, Germany or wherever in the EU and just playing, a carnet will be needed for all their gear on entry and exit for each EU member state, work visas for each country.

Just as forecasted years ago.

There is time with the pandemic raging to sort this out, but for artists and groups in dire straights after ten months of not playing anywhere, and slups in sales, to have the only really lucrative part of any future wiped out will be the end for many groups.

It is the same for classical musicians, who now find themselves frozen out from most of Europe's top orchestras due to being citizens of third countries, and subject to the same employment restrictions as the rest of the world.

Many of us who work for multi-national companies, will find that many internal jobs will be only for EU citizens, as we can't easily work where the head office might be.

So much winning.

Meanwhile, in the Daily Hate Mail, former Prime Minister has savaged Johnson for his moral failure with his plans to break international law and tearing up commitments to foreign aid budgets. Not surpising she said it, but it being in The Mail is surprising.

So far, the failures in Brexit and trade have not made many headlines, there is rumblings of fresh food shortages, but nothing to spook the panic buying expected. COVID ensures that such bad news is kept off the front pages, although headlines are mostly positive in relaying news on daily vaccination doses given, rather than the shameful daily death totals.