03-16-2018, 10:29 PM
*** 17-Mar-18 World View -- Ireland border issue continues to confound Brexit negotiations
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Ireland border issue continues to confound Brexit negotiations
****
![[Image: g180316b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180316b.jpg)
Ireland's prime minister Leo Varadkar (L) visits US-Canada border to see if the same thing would work for the Ireland - Northern Ireland border. He tweeted, 'Just visited the Canada-US border. It's high tech and highly efficient, but make no mistake - it's a hard border.'
The British Parliament's Northern Ireland Affairs Committee issued a
report on Friday that came about as close to saying "the Brexit
Ireland border problem has no solution" as possible, while following
the unwritten political rules of never saying anything so definitive.
The Brexit Ireland border problem is the problem of the border between
Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland
(Southern Ireland), which will remain in the EU after Brexit. If the
UK is not part of the EU, then there would have be border controls
between Ireland and Northern Ireland, a concept that almost everyone
rejects, because any border controls are feared likely to result in a
renewal of "The Troubles," the decades of violence between the
indigenous ethnic Irish Gaelics (Catholic, Republican) and the
descendants of the English and Scottish invaders (Protestant,
Unionist).
The border across Ireland first appeared in 1921 as a result of the
British-Irish treaty that partitioned the island and ended the Irish
War of Independence. It ran across farms and villages and, following
the outbreak of hostilities in the North in 1969, was reinforced with
British Army watchtowers and bomb-proof and mortar-proof inspection
facilities.
All of that infrastructure was removed as a result of the 1998 Good
Friday Agreement that saw the Provisional IRA disarm in exchange for a
new power-sharing accord that was supposed to break down some of the
barriers between south and north, including the physical barrier at
the border.
So everyone says they want no return to the physical barriers.
Instead, they want to maintain a "frictionless border" between Ireland
and Northern Ireland, meaning that cars and trucks can continue to
freely cross the border in either direction, just as they can today.
But that would mean that a Spanish company that wants to ship goods to
England without paying British tariffs could simply trans-ship them
through Northern Ireland -- that is, ship them to Ireland, send them
across the "frictionless border" to Northern Ireland, and then ship
them across the Irish Sea to England. Similarly, an English firm
could ship goods to Spain by trans-shipping in the opposite direction,
and avoid paying EU tariffs.
The main conclusions of Friday's report from the Northern Ireland
Affairs Committee are as follows:
At one point, Theresa May said, "There are many examples of different
arrangements for customs around the rest of the world, and indeed we
are looking at those, including, for example, the border between the
United States and Canada." However, an opponent pointed out that
"There are guns and armed customs guards" on the US-Canada border.
In fact, Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, did
pay a visit to the US-Canada border, and tweeted:
<QUOTE>"Just visited the Canada-US border. It's high tech and
highly efficient, but make no mistake - it's a hard
border."<END QUOTE>
The logic of the situation is as follows:
Theresa May has also put forth a suggestion that a "high tech" way
will be found to keep the Irish border frictionless. I've never seen
an explanation about how that's supposed to work -- supposedly some
kind of magic device at the border would scan each car and truck
crossing the border and figure out whether it contains anything that
needs to be taxed.
Friday's report rejected the high-tech solution:
<QUOTE>"The UK government has repeatedly underlined that the
free movement of people across the border will not be affected and
that no physical infrastructure will be put in place. However, the
committee was unable to identify any border solution currently in
operation across the globe that would enable physical
infrastructure to be avoided when rules and tariffs
diverge."<END QUOTE>
EU diplomats last week warned May last week that the high-tech
solution is unrealistic, and that she must back down.
The UK and the EU will begin three days of the next round of the
delusional Brexit negotiations on Saturday. It's not expected that a
solution to the Ireland border problem will be found. BBC and
UK Parliament and Canadian Broadcasting (22-Aug-2017) and Guardian (London)
Related Articles
****
**** Despite warnings from China, Trump signs the Taiwan Travel Act
****
President Donald Trump on Friday evening ET signed the Taiwan Travel
Act, which had passed both houses of Congress unanimously, and was
sent to the President on February 28. A veto would likely have been
overridden by Congress and, according to the Constitution, the Act
would have become law automatically on Saturday if Trump had done
nothing. Trump decided to sign it, apparently as a signal to China
that he was specifically ignoring their warnings.
The Chinese embassy issued a statement:
<QUOTE>"[The Act] severely violates the one-China principle,
the political foundation of the China-U.S. relationship.
China is strongly dissatisfied with that and firmly opposes it.
[The United States should] stop pursuing any official ties with
Taiwan or improving its current relations with Taiwan in any
substantive way."<END QUOTE>
China has threatened Taiwan with a military invasion if it makes any
move, by word or deed, towards independence. Arguably, it has already
done that many times.
The United States has not had official diplomatic relations with
Taiwan since 1979, choosing instead to have diplomatic relations with
China. China refuses to have formal relations with any country that
has relations with Taiwan.
The Taiwan Travel Act makes it legal for officials from the executive
branch of the US government to visit Taiwan, or to invite Taiwan's
leaders to visit Washington for official diplomatic meetings, if they
choose to do so.
An official statement from Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
expressed the government's sincerest thanks for the goodwill and
friendship that the United States has shown to Taiwan over the years.
Taiwan News
and Reuters and South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Leo Varadkar,
Britain, Theresa May, Northern Ireland Affairs Committee,
Good Friday Agreement, Canada-US border,
Taiwan, Taiwan Travel Act, China
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Ireland border issue continues to confound Brexit negotiations
- Despite warnings from China, Trump signs the Taiwan Travel Act
****
**** Ireland border issue continues to confound Brexit negotiations
****
Ireland's prime minister Leo Varadkar (L) visits US-Canada border to see if the same thing would work for the Ireland - Northern Ireland border. He tweeted, 'Just visited the Canada-US border. It's high tech and highly efficient, but make no mistake - it's a hard border.'
The British Parliament's Northern Ireland Affairs Committee issued a
report on Friday that came about as close to saying "the Brexit
Ireland border problem has no solution" as possible, while following
the unwritten political rules of never saying anything so definitive.
The Brexit Ireland border problem is the problem of the border between
Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland
(Southern Ireland), which will remain in the EU after Brexit. If the
UK is not part of the EU, then there would have be border controls
between Ireland and Northern Ireland, a concept that almost everyone
rejects, because any border controls are feared likely to result in a
renewal of "The Troubles," the decades of violence between the
indigenous ethnic Irish Gaelics (Catholic, Republican) and the
descendants of the English and Scottish invaders (Protestant,
Unionist).
The border across Ireland first appeared in 1921 as a result of the
British-Irish treaty that partitioned the island and ended the Irish
War of Independence. It ran across farms and villages and, following
the outbreak of hostilities in the North in 1969, was reinforced with
British Army watchtowers and bomb-proof and mortar-proof inspection
facilities.
All of that infrastructure was removed as a result of the 1998 Good
Friday Agreement that saw the Provisional IRA disarm in exchange for a
new power-sharing accord that was supposed to break down some of the
barriers between south and north, including the physical barrier at
the border.
So everyone says they want no return to the physical barriers.
Instead, they want to maintain a "frictionless border" between Ireland
and Northern Ireland, meaning that cars and trucks can continue to
freely cross the border in either direction, just as they can today.
But that would mean that a Spanish company that wants to ship goods to
England without paying British tariffs could simply trans-ship them
through Northern Ireland -- that is, ship them to Ireland, send them
across the "frictionless border" to Northern Ireland, and then ship
them across the Irish Sea to England. Similarly, an English firm
could ship goods to Spain by trans-shipping in the opposite direction,
and avoid paying EU tariffs.
The main conclusions of Friday's report from the Northern Ireland
Affairs Committee are as follows:
- "The Committee concluded that the Government’s proposals are
imaginative but that it will not have the time to implement a new
non-visible customs regime before withdrawal day."
- "The Committee rejected any proposals for customs checks which
would result in a customs border down the Irish Sea. This would create
a costly barrier to trade with Northern Ireland’s largest market and
would be incompatible with the spirit and intent of the Belfast/Good
Friday Agreement."
- "The Committee found that additional infrastructure at the
[Ireland - Northern Ireland] border would not only be politically
objectional but ineffective and unworkable."
- "Leaving the EU without a substantial agreement would have very
negative consequences for avoiding a hard border. The Committee
welcomed commitments that this would not happen."
At one point, Theresa May said, "There are many examples of different
arrangements for customs around the rest of the world, and indeed we
are looking at those, including, for example, the border between the
United States and Canada." However, an opponent pointed out that
"There are guns and armed customs guards" on the US-Canada border.
In fact, Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, did
pay a visit to the US-Canada border, and tweeted:
<QUOTE>"Just visited the Canada-US border. It's high tech and
highly efficient, but make no mistake - it's a hard
border."<END QUOTE>
The logic of the situation is as follows:
- Ireland's prime minister Leo Varadkar has said that he will
not approve any plan that does not maintain a frictionless border
between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
- The leaders of EU27 (the EU without the UK) have said that they
will side with Varadkar against the UK in all decisions, since Ireland
will be part of the EU, and the UK will not.
- Protestant (Unionist) leaders in Northern Ireland will not accept
any solution that does not maintain a frictionless border between
Northern Ireland and England -- i.e., across the Irish Sea.
- Catholic (Republican) leaders in Northern Ireland are demanding
that Northern Ireland secede from the UK and unite with the Republic
of Ireland.
Theresa May has also put forth a suggestion that a "high tech" way
will be found to keep the Irish border frictionless. I've never seen
an explanation about how that's supposed to work -- supposedly some
kind of magic device at the border would scan each car and truck
crossing the border and figure out whether it contains anything that
needs to be taxed.
Friday's report rejected the high-tech solution:
<QUOTE>"The UK government has repeatedly underlined that the
free movement of people across the border will not be affected and
that no physical infrastructure will be put in place. However, the
committee was unable to identify any border solution currently in
operation across the globe that would enable physical
infrastructure to be avoided when rules and tariffs
diverge."<END QUOTE>
EU diplomats last week warned May last week that the high-tech
solution is unrealistic, and that she must back down.
The UK and the EU will begin three days of the next round of the
delusional Brexit negotiations on Saturday. It's not expected that a
solution to the Ireland border problem will be found. BBC and
UK Parliament and Canadian Broadcasting (22-Aug-2017) and Guardian (London)
Related Articles
- Brexit negotiations collapse over Ireland border issue (05-Dec-2017)
- The issue of Ireland's border threatens to collapse EU-UK Brexit negotiations. (28-Nov-2017)
- Britain's Tony Blair calls for the people 'to rise up' and reverse Brexit (18-Feb-2017)
- European anger and British self-delusion follow Brexit plan speech (19-Jan-2017)
- Britain's Millennials are furious at Boomers for Brexit vote (26-Jun-2016)
****
**** Despite warnings from China, Trump signs the Taiwan Travel Act
****
President Donald Trump on Friday evening ET signed the Taiwan Travel
Act, which had passed both houses of Congress unanimously, and was
sent to the President on February 28. A veto would likely have been
overridden by Congress and, according to the Constitution, the Act
would have become law automatically on Saturday if Trump had done
nothing. Trump decided to sign it, apparently as a signal to China
that he was specifically ignoring their warnings.
The Chinese embassy issued a statement:
<QUOTE>"[The Act] severely violates the one-China principle,
the political foundation of the China-U.S. relationship.
China is strongly dissatisfied with that and firmly opposes it.
[The United States should] stop pursuing any official ties with
Taiwan or improving its current relations with Taiwan in any
substantive way."<END QUOTE>
China has threatened Taiwan with a military invasion if it makes any
move, by word or deed, towards independence. Arguably, it has already
done that many times.
The United States has not had official diplomatic relations with
Taiwan since 1979, choosing instead to have diplomatic relations with
China. China refuses to have formal relations with any country that
has relations with Taiwan.
The Taiwan Travel Act makes it legal for officials from the executive
branch of the US government to visit Taiwan, or to invite Taiwan's
leaders to visit Washington for official diplomatic meetings, if they
choose to do so.
An official statement from Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
expressed the government's sincerest thanks for the goodwill and
friendship that the United States has shown to Taiwan over the years.
Taiwan News
and Reuters and South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
Related Articles
- In a major victory for China, Panama switches allegiance from Taiwan to China (14-Jun-2017)
- Following the money, Sao Tome and Principe switches allegiance from Taiwan to China (28-Dec-2016)
- Taiwan's pro-independence party wins historic presidential election (17-Jan-2016)
- No war erupted from Trump's ten minute phone call with Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen (05-Dec-2016)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Leo Varadkar,
Britain, Theresa May, Northern Ireland Affairs Committee,
Good Friday Agreement, Canada-US border,
Taiwan, Taiwan Travel Act, China
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
