created by gregoratior on 21/10/2019 at 12:09 UTC
1591 upvotes, 75 top-level comments (showing 25)
I suspect that this publication will make some noise, so that's why you probably don't have much time to look through the internal secret documents that contain specific details of the upcoming FTA between the UK and the USA.
Three years, six bilateral meetings of the UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG), 12 chapter-level discussions, 451 pages of reports. A detailed analysis and processing of such an amount of material will require a lot of time, knowledge and definitely more than one pair of eyes, so I'm dumping this here.
OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE UK-US TIWG FULL READOUT
The fact that the British Parliament was suspended by Her Majesty for five weeks at the request of the Prime Minister right before the next deadline makes this publication the last attempt to effectively counter the scenario of Britain leaving the EU without making a deal with Brussels.
From now on, it is no longer a secret who is pushing the UK government to no-deal Brexit:
USTR were also clear that the UK-EU situation would be determinative: there would be all to play for in a No Deal situation but UK commitment to the Customs Union and Single Market would make a UK-U.S. FTA a non-starter.
​
The most notable step towards the signing of the agreement, as expected, will be the UK rejection of EU sanitary and phytosanitary standards, which means that chlorinated chicken from American farmers can get to Britain by Christmas:
• The US are very concerned at the contents of the Chequers statement. They were "deflated" and see harmonisation with the EU SPS regime as the "worst-case scenario" for a UK-US FTA.
• The US see SPS as the biggest 'sticking point' on risk (what they see as the 'global norm') vs the EU's hazard-based approach on mainly pesticides, veterinary drugs and pathogen reduction treatments.
• On transparency and equivalence the UK not remaining in the EU but subject to the EU rules will be more of an issue for the US than the UK just being in the EU, as we can no longer be a back door for US products and no longer influence EU rules. An example the US shared would be if they (the US) lodged a complaint against the UK under the terms of the FTA, the UK would not have the autonomy to address the said complaint under the Chequers proposal.
​
British citizens will inevitably face a sharp decline in the quality of imported food products. The United States is strongly determined to expand markets thus placing UK in 'take it or leave it' position:
[Wine Agreement] The most challenging element was the discussion on traditional terms. The US do not want to accept our continuity approach, even for a no deal text. They described the position, whilst referring to the issues with the EU, as "the disease spreading". This may require political escalation. The UK will send over the latest Wine Agreement text following this call. We are about 90% agreed.
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Cornering the victim, the US is clearly not going to limit itself to ensuring its own interests solely within the UK:
Another priority for the Administration was dealing with common global problems, particularly China. The US had commenced an investigation on overcapacity of steel and aluminium vis-a-vis China, the outcome of which would be a standard through which to protect other industry (semiconductors, solar panels etc.). An important element of positive agendas with the UK and the EU would be shared action on China. On the Trade in Service Agreement (TISA) the Administration recognised the potential to come back to table, but no decision had been made to date.
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After reading the documents, there should be no doubt who is speaking in these negotiations from a position of strength and who is on the receiving end. The language and the tone in which negotiations are held sometimes give the impression that the second side of the process is not Great Britain, but a third world country:
e) The US is willing to offer the UK 2 spots of the 50 in the Central California tour for ACE 10
f) Anyone who attends must be able to provide something. "Move the needle or you don't get to come back"
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What can we say about respect for the citizens of the Kingdom if in the new trading space they still have to prove their competence?
...in TTIP the US repeatedly said that they would like to recognise the UK's professions but they could not trust standards in all EU countries.
​
The United Kingdom will also be asked to reconsider their policy towards legal protection of personal data. Cooperation is out of the question while GDPR stands in the way of American corporations like Facebook and Google.
RT also explained that the US has had some specific concerns with how GDPR is being implemented. The EU has acknowledged GDPR has a global impact and other countries are going to have opinions.
RT stated that the US will want to engage with the UK on the best approach around its future international transfers model, but understands there are still internal discussions in the UK on this. The US are proponents of APEC-CBPR model which is based around individual companies rather than whole legal systems [...] The UK and US could work together on an inclusive system [...] A mapping exercise took place mapping CBPR against the EU corporate rules system, and it was discovered that while there were differences, they were not as extensive as one would presume. Some countries have used the same set of information to get both approvals under both systems [...]
It would be useful to understand the impact on companies of unintended consequences of bringing GDPR in to play on hybrid data.
​
Based on the content of these documents, we can now imagine what a terrible price Britain will have to pay to conclude a free trade agreement with the United States - from betraying partners and the interests of own citizens to betraying her national policies.
Comment by Captain_English at 22/11/2019 at 14:22 UTC
65 upvotes, 3 direct replies
How did people miss this?!
Do you have any more documents?
Comment by amiiliek at 27/11/2019 at 12:36 UTC
51 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I can't believe this document has been sat on this thread for a whole month without us knowing what the fuck
Comment by KattyTorr at 29/10/2019 at 07:34 UTC
19 upvotes, 1 direct replies
This will hardly reach the headlines. The only beneficiary is obvious so who needs to bring up the subject? Neither UK nor Europeans seek that opportunity to appear in Trump's tweets. Anyway can't wait to hear from Labour.
Comment by bola_de_nieve at 27/11/2019 at 11:22 UTC
31 upvotes, 2 direct replies
This has been here the whole time? Good job not sharing it I guess then everyone. The country is paying attention now.
Comment by Termin8tor at 27/11/2019 at 17:09 UTC
14 upvotes, 4 direct replies
The most depressing thing about this is how humiliating it is for the U.K. This country stood in two world wars. Our Grandparents and great grandparents were the generations that fought shoulder to shoulder against fascism and to ensure our independence.
Now look at us willing to sell off our social health care and our standards so willingly in the name of lining people's pockets. People think it's patriotic. It's not, It's idiotic.
When we're out of the E.U we're intent on forming trade deals with countries like China, y'know... that country currently engaging in a literal genocide, complete with death camps. Did our parents not learn about Auschwitz? Where the fuck is the outrage? Since when did we become so morally bankrupt that we'd sell ourselves out like this.
It's like Britain has finally been defeated, not by its enemies but by its own morally bankrupt politicians. Fuck.
Comment by [deleted] at 27/11/2019 at 10:38 UTC
22 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[removed]
Comment by [deleted] at 27/11/2019 at 11:36 UTC
21 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by YinkYinkYinken at 27/11/2019 at 13:17 UTC
9 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Please, please VOTE LABOUR to escape from this hell.
Comment by BikeAnimal at 27/11/2019 at 16:06 UTC
11 upvotes, 0 direct replies
FUCK TRUMP.
FUCK JOHNSON.
AND FUCK ANYBODY WHO VOTES FOR THEM.
Comment by distilledwill at 27/11/2019 at 11:29 UTC
17 upvotes, 2 direct replies
We can't allow the Tories to sell the NHS to the US. The NHS is our greatest and most precious achievement, people paying through their nose for treatment elsewhere look at our system with envy and the Conservatives would sell it all off and line their pockets. It can't be allowed to happen.
Comment by [deleted] at 27/11/2019 at 11:52 UTC
9 upvotes, 1 direct replies
We need to share the link to here about because the only one else i found was Guido Fawkes and it is biased heavily.
Comment by Mealprep_throwaway at 27/11/2019 at 12:37 UTC
13 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Holy shit this just got plugged by Laura Kuenssberg
Comment by Senator-Dingdong at 27/11/2019 at 11:11 UTC
13 upvotes, 2 direct replies
hey look it's the tories selling the country again. remember to vote tactfully people, get the tories out!
Comment by TotesMessenger at 27/11/2019 at 11:18 UTC*
6 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
[/r/labouruk] Supposedly the 451 page report, posted a month ago
[/r/ukpolitics] The 451 pages of unredacted trade negotiations leaked on r/worldpolitics 1 month ago
*^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^(Info[1] ^/ ^Contact[2])*
2: /message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger
Comment by Rastacat84 at 27/11/2019 at 12:08 UTC
6 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Suprise Suprise, Even after Corbyn brings this to the attention of the media and public no word yet from the BBC or other tory leaning media outlets. Can't wait to see the proper analysis of the documents, cos lets be honest I'm not reading 450+ pages! Down with the Tories!
Comment by PRamone at 27/11/2019 at 12:54 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Let's hope that this helps the British electorate wake up to quite how badly the far-right Johnson/Farrage party would screw our country in order to put money in their friends' pockets.
Comment by kassius at 27/11/2019 at 13:46 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Well done OP, finally all over the news! Environmental organisations finding very useful, thank you
Comment by Mytherou at 27/11/2019 at 17:07 UTC
4 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I, like countless other Britons, fear for my well-being without the watchful eye of the EU safeguarding us from the malice of our own government.
Comment by jerryphoto at 27/11/2019 at 20:51 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
American here. If you let them take away the NHS and replace it with our shitty (No) Healthcare system, you're fucked. Fight it with everything you've got!
Comment by goesintoeffect at 21/10/2019 at 15:22 UTC
4 upvotes, 2 direct replies
The days of us taxpayers and citizens bending over and taking it in the butt for so called international “Free Trade Agreements” is over.
Comment by PlasticSoldier2018 at 29/10/2019 at 07:06 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Just revoke article fifty and be done with it.
Comment by saffagaymer at 27/11/2019 at 11:53 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Oh shit
Comment by Zazsona at 27/11/2019 at 12:51 UTC
5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
While the focus many are taking on the NHS is an important one, it's far from the only news here. The potential stripping of GDPR is a worry for me.
After Brexit, there will be no stopping the reintroduction of bills such as Snooper's Charter, take that as a good or bad thing as your views fit.
Comment by rainbosandvich at 27/11/2019 at 14:02 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
If the tories get in again then this is the beginning of the fucking end. It will just get worse and worse and worse and then we'll be fucked. Things will get violent. The media and the right need to be scrapped for parts.
Comment by Vapr2014 at 27/11/2019 at 14:25 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
We don't have to read this document at all to know that any future FTA we negotiate with the US will be done from a disadvantaged position. Britain will have no leverage and no bargaining power. That's why the EU always negotiates as a bloc, with the full might of 28 countries behind it. Post Brexit, we will need trade deals with the likes of the US and China a hell of a lot more than they need trade deals with us, which means there will be concession after concession. Everything will be on the table, including the NHS, food safety standards, health and safety, etc
