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Japan Goes Public With Brexit Demands, Says Data Flow Deals Must Be Protected (arstechnica.com)

Kelly Fiveash, writing for ArsTechnica:UK Prime minister Theresa May said at the weekend that she wanted to take her time to secure the best trade deals for a post-Brexit Britain, and reiterated -- in her trademark vague terms -- that the so-called Article 50 won't be triggered this year. But political pressure from governments as far away as Japan continues to mount. On Sunday, in a bold move, the Japanese government published a 15-page memo setting out a number of demands it wants the UK to adhere to, once it leaves the European Union. It underscored that Britain faces a torrid time of negotiations -- not just with member states in the EU, but further afield, too. Japan, which has close economic ties with the UK, listed its demands based on requests from businesses in the country. It said; "It is of great importance that the UK and the EU maintain market integrity and remain attractive destinations for businesses where free trade, unfettered investment, and smooth financial transactions are ensured." It's brutal stuff from Japan, and could well lead to other countries making similarly robust demands. On tech specifically, the Japanese government called on the UK and EU, post-Brexit, to maintain cloud agreements between businesses at an international level, by safeguarding the "free transfer of data."

19 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. Meanwhile the EU is saying... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... invoke Article 50 first, leave, and then we will talk about special trade deals. You voted to leave, so leave already.

    1. Re:Meanwhile the EU is saying... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The EU are saying "you voted leave, and this period if instability is good for no one, including the rest of the EU".

      Not a bad point, on the whole. I mean, it's almost like we went into a referendum to leave the EU without having any idea about what this means, or any plans to achieve it.

    2. Re:Meanwhile the EU is saying... by TFAFalcon · · Score: 3

      What the other governments are saying is that they want to follow the rules for the exit, which spell out a 2 year deadline. What they want to avoid is endless negotiations, so forcing the UK to actually (legally) declare they are leaving the union before any negotiations begin.

    3. Re: Meanwhile the EU is saying... by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It would not be the end of trade + just the UK having the same tariff barriers imposed on their products as the rest of the world. Many products will then become cheaper to produce inside the EU without those tariffs, so expect a transfer of jobs and production from the UK to the EU. You asked for it, you got it, now deal with it and let it be a lesson to others to look before you keep, and do your own thinking instead of accepting politicians lies uncritically. You really did get the government you deserve.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    4. Re:Meanwhile the EU is saying... by RandomSurfer314 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Your post makes no sense. Anyone in Germany can import as much as they want from other EU countries without the German government having any say in it. Unless we're talking about weapons or other restricted goods. Likewise, anybody can export as much as they want to other EU countries without the government being able to interfere with it. That's the whole fucking idea of the common EU market. Government policies have nearly zero effect on this. It's a free market.

    5. Re: Meanwhile the EU is saying... by thegarbz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Congratulations you just described trade barriers. But the interesting part is a that when two major economies who trade with each other each impose tarrifs the net gain is normally zero unless there's a massive imbalance in the trade conditions. This is why for instance trade barriers make sense between Australia and China, but not Australia and New Zealand, as the abolishion of barriers in the later doesn't result in work offshoring.

      Speaking of offshoring 1/3rd of cars sold in the UK last year were German. But no where near 1/3rd of them were made in Germany. BMW, Mercedes etc have factories in the UK to serve the UK market. The effect won't be anywhere near as dramatic as all of the anti-Brexit propaganda is making out, and I say this as someone who's dead set against this idiotic idea of a Brexit.

    6. Re:Meanwhile the EU is saying... by Cederic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Q1 - Is the British Government sovereign in any and all decisions about how to run the country while in the EU.

      Q2 - Can the UK sustain net immigration each year of 300,000 people, and can this be avoided while staying in the EU?

      Any more questions, because those are the only two that fucking matter.

    7. Re:Meanwhile the EU is saying... by Noryungi · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The EU being unresponsive to the desires of its populations is exactly why the UK left.

      Not on this earth. The UK left because of diffuse and non-concrete fears that large waves of refugees might enter the country, coupled with latent racism against Polish immigrants.

      ... Not to mention 30 years of vicious, ultra-conservative propaganda against the EU. Just like Fox News in the USA is polluting the political discourse with crappy propaganda, the British tabloids have been spewing nonsense about the EU.

      And the fact that both are owned by Rupert Murdoch should tell you a lot...

      --
      The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
    8. Re:Meanwhile the EU is saying... by Cederic · · Score: 3, Informative

      Really? You think the British can outvote 27 other nations?

      On some matters, yes - we have a veto.
      On the rest? No. Multiple times the British Government has been outvoted and forced to adopt legislation it didn't want.

      Negotiations are good. Being unable to walk away and reject the outcome is not. Since the little decisions wouldn't go our way, we took the big one. We're walking away, and we'll make our own law, take our own decisions, and we wont have to negotiate with corrupt cunts in Europe to do it.

    9. Re: Meanwhile the EU is saying... by Cederic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What would be the point of the former if each party could choose the later? Seriously, the point is to reach a consensus, not get what YOU want.

      erm. Actually yes, the point of negotiation is to get what you want.

      The negotiation is to find common ground so that all parties can get what they want, and everybody's happy. At no point does this presuppose that all parties must agree at the end.

      Haven't you heard the term, "Negotiations broke down..." ?

      Tell you what, I'll buy your car for $4. Lets negotiate - you can probably bargain me as high as $7, but I wont go beyond that.

      Accepting this negotiation outcome? Or walking away? Oh look, reality just intervened.

    10. Re:Meanwhile the EU is saying... by kellymcdonald78 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't think there is anything in wanting this, however to think that it can be achieved without consequence is foolish. The UK in its current form is tightly integrated into the EU and the health of its economy is dependent on trade. The pro-Brexit champions were just as aware of this as anyone.

    11. Re:Meanwhile the EU is saying... by dunkelfalke · · Score: 5, Insightful

      UK has been behaving like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum every time things didn't go their way. Unfortunately the rest of the union has been way too soft to the brits instead of telling them a well-deserved "fuck you".

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
  2. Japanese focus on Britain by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Half of Japan's investments into EU have gone into Britain, seeing as a gateway to the EU. Now they are scared shitless that they have bet on the wrong horse. EU tariffs on cars and other products produced in GB means all those factories were built on the wrong side of the channel.

  3. Re:Leaving the EU was a huge mistake. by mccalli · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I keep reading this 'the old' stuff. Are people aware that these same 'old' will be the people who voted into it in the 1970s? And will, in fact, be the only people who have seen the evolution of the whole situation?

  4. Re:Leaving the EU was a huge mistake. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Leaving the EU was a huge mistake. The old, who voted for it out of xenophobia, will be dead by the time we will feel the consequences.

    That's what this generation of old people do. This generation - not the previous ones. Previous generations of old people tried their level best to be more like wise elders and guiding lights, repositories of wisdom that the youngers would have been utterly foolish to disregard.

    What you describe in the EU is in the same spirit as what is happening in the USA. Look what the Baby Boomers have done to their grandchildren. In American history they are the first generation to leave their descendants with LESS than they enjoyed. Every previous generation has done its best to leave an inheritance, to ensure their posterity enjoyed a better life than what they knew.

    I don't know if the aftermath and long-term repercussions of WWII just broke their spirits and made them into fearful self-centered short-sighted self-important ever-entitled people, or what, but it's one of the saddest things I've witnessed.

  5. Re:Welcome to the Hotel EuroUnion... by gaiageek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Angela Merkel, arguably the most powerful of the EU leaders, said there's no need to be nasty to the UK in response to Brexit (i.e. punish them, as you're suggesting). The reality is that the UK will be punishing itself, because it's leaving the club (the EU) and losing the benefits, including free trade with the rest of the EU. This fact alone is enough for any company which had its EU headquarters in the UK to realize they probably need to move to the continent. That's a lot of jobs leaving the country.

  6. 100% EU access or your money back! by Jesus_666 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think Japan's point is that they built a bunch of factories and local headquarters in the UK specifically to deal with the European market. That was the big selling point. With the UK no longer being part of the European market Japan is understandably unhappy. So they give the UK two options:

    1. The UK makes sure that Japan doesn't lose much by staying there. That means trade with the EU must work as if the UK were still a member. That means a huge free trade agreement needs to be secured ASAP.
    2. A lot of Japanese companies will abandon their UK factories and headquarters and build new ones on the continent because staying in the UK is no longer financially sound. The UK loses a whole bunch of jobs and tax income and the Japanese companies lose a whole bunch of sunk money. Nobody wants this scenario.

    Of course scenario 1 is hindered by the fact that the EU isn't keen on making trade agreements with a leaving member before the member has even left. So they're pushing for the UK to just invoke Article 50 already so things can get started.


    tl;dr: Yes, the door is open - for Japanese companies to leave the UK. If you want to avoid that you'll have to convince them that trade with the EU won't be impacted by Brexit.

    --
    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    1. Re:100% EU access or your money back! by thegarbz · · Score: 5, Funny

      tl;dr: Yes, the door is open - for Japanese companies to leave the UK. If you want to avoid that you'll have to convince them that trade with the EU won't be impacted by Brexit.

      What! Nigel Farage insisted that the EU was the reason there are no jobs in the UK and that when we're out we will overnight turn into a giant booming manufacturer of world goods! Are you saying he lied? This is Nigel we're talking about! If you can't trust a politician who can you trust!

  7. Re:Leaving the EU was a huge mistake. by Bromrrrrr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We (the all-wise, all-knowing bureaucrats) also know that consumption of raw milk products is dangerous therefore you (french, italian, spanish, communities that have been making raw milk cheeses are now declared to be WRONG and OLD FASHIONED. And any production of such products will now be ILLEGAL.................

    Of course the fact that no such prohibition exists probably won't stop you from repeating it, will it?

    There are some rules with regards raw milk cheese mainly that it has to be produced in a clean environment and it has to be labeled as being produced with raw milk. All of which seems pretty sensible to me.

    But don't let me get in the way of a nice rant, try using more caps.

    --

    What a rotten party, have we run out of beer or something?