howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Business Insider actually Your Grace and probably best that you neck less of the communion wine before reading posts, hope that helps.
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howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Courtesy of the Times, looks like we have been caught out.
The European Commission has hit Britain with a £2.4 billion fine, accusing the government of turning a blind eye to widespread customs fraud at ports. In a provocative move, ahead of the start of trade negotiations, Brussels has written to the government demanding payment after an investigation by the EU’s anti-fraud unit, Olaf. It accuses the UK of allowing Chinese criminal gangs to systematically undervalue goods imported into the EU through Dover and Felixstowe, avoiding billions of pounds in customs duty and VAT that should have been paid to Brussels.
The EU claims that Britain was made aware of the fraud more than ten years ago but failed to act, costing Brussels €2.6 billion in lost revenue. British authorities say they do not recognise the commission’s findings or the estimate of what it owed and will dispute the fine. Normally the issue would be adjudicated by the European Court of Justice but Britain will almost certainly have left before the case can be heard. As a result, the fine is likely to become an issue in the divorce bill negotiations. It also has the potential to be used by the commission as evidence that the UK cannot be trusted to effectively enforce any “soft” customs border after Brexit.
Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, accused Brussels of using “the language of a gang” with calls for the UK to be “punished” for Brexit. In a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce in London, Dr Fox called on the EU to take a pragmatic approach to the negotiations. “The idea of punishing Britain to me is not the language of a club, it is the language a gang,” he said. Official figures obtained by The Times last year revealed that crime gangs, based in Britain but operating internationally, had doubled the volume of fraudulent freight they shipped into Europe through British ports over a three-year period. Suspicious shipments of clothing and shoes imported through Britain from China rose from 192 million kg in 2013 to more than 407 million kg in 2016. Investigators said the gangs chose Britain because they were allowed to declare imported goods at impossibly low values. The EU’s anti-fraud office claimed that the average value declared at the UK border for women’s cotton trousers was €0.91 per kg, compared with an EU average of €26.09. Customs duty is charged at 12 per cent of the declared value so the fraudsters could make huge savings by declaring in Britain.
Button
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,057
That'll be the deep-sea service from the PRC to Dover then. Pity CHIEF's Front End Credibility functionality wasn't working.
(Not my real name.)
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
The politicians still haven't come to grips with what is likely to happen, 185,000 traders making customs declarations for the first time.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/08/customs-checks-will-cause-huge-tailbacks-warns-calais-port-bossButton likes this
Button- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,057
In about a year from now. Think I'll pop out to the travel agent...
(Not my real name.)
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
It's not only businesses that need to know what the situation will be next March but also customs officers will need to be recruited and trained ready for us leaving. Could be they employ, just for arguments sake, a 1000 people then find at the last minute desperate politicians find a way of keeping us in a customs union.
Button likes this
Button- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,057
I think there's a strong argument for basing them locally and having them dedicated to our short-crossing traffic, rather than in the National Clearance Hub in Salford covering all routes. After all, it only takes about 5 minutes after a problem either side of the Straits for Mr Dixon to be out with his hotdog stand because, unlike at Felixstowe, we can't Stack customers one on top the other. Plus in our case, tourists get mixed in with the freight too.
I feel sure Mr Elphicke could draw an analogy with Swingate radar, BoB airfields and squadrons scrambling.
howard mcsweeney1 likes this
(Not my real name.)
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Guest 1881 likes this
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
I found this to be an interesting read as Dave brought it in early in his Prime Ministership to appease Eurosceptics in his party but the twist in the tail is that Europhiles can now turn it to their advantage.
A second Referendum now seems certain which will please Brian at least.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-second-referendum-lock-legal-challenge-david-cameron-dominic-grieve-a8250266.htmlBrian Dixon likes this
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
been on the cards for age's now.
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
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howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
I remember the Calais Chamber of Commerce trying this one before the Referendum but more pertinent now.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/mar/11/normandy-advert-to-seduce-post-brexit-uk-firms-bannedhoward mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Courtesy of the Telegraph.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has said the Brexit vote was "driven by nostalgia" for a world where "faces were white". In his keynote speech to his party's spring conference in Southport, Sir Vince said the "toxic" fall-out of the referendum is fuelling the rise of the populist right in Britain.
Saying that 70 per cent of over 65s had voted for Brexit, Sir Vince said: "Too many were driven by nostalgia for a world where passports were blue, faces were white and the map was coloured imperial pink". Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid, said Sir Vince's comments were "so wrong and disrespectful", adding: "Should be trying to bring country together, not seeking to tear it apart." Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis said the Lib Dem leader's words were "unbelievable, rude, offensive to many".
Sir Vince criticised the "poisonous rhetoric" of Brexiteers, which he said was only exacerbating the divisions. He appealed to critics of Brexit to unite behind the Lib Dems' call for a second referendum once the terms of the final deal were known. He said it was clear the EU would end up dictating the terms, saying the Government was divided and confused over what it wanted to achieve in the negotiations.
"This will, in turn, create the sense of victimhood Brexiteers crave - being under the European yoke," he said. "I would go so far as to say Britain is now mired in a protracted, non-violent civil war.
"Allied to the poisonous rhetoric about 'traitors' and 'saboteurs', and what Theresa May calls 'citizens of nowhere', we have a toxic brew which fuels the populist right. "What a disgrace that the fool's errand of Brexit embarked on to paper over cracks in the Conservative Party has resulted in hate crime on our streets." He added: "It was never a good idea to leave the EU. To leave it now borders on extreme recklessness."
Neil Moors- Registered: 3 Feb 2016
- Posts: 1,299
While he may exaggerate somewhat to make the point, he has got a point.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
I think he is deluded as freedom of movement applies to predominantly white people who live in a member state.
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Reginald Barrington
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 17 Dec 2014
- Posts: 3,257
Neil Moors wrote:While he may exaggerate somewhat to make the point, he has got a point.
Which one he seems to make several?
Arte et Marte
John Buckley
- Registered: 6 Oct 2013
- Posts: 615
No surprises there really, just a typical Limp Dim view I guess.
Neil Moors- Registered: 3 Feb 2016
- Posts: 1,299
I don't think the colour of skin point is relevant, but I do think the generational division and harking back to the past is.