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Shoppers pay a third extra to get EU goods
Tens of thousands of internet shoppers are being hit with unexpected customs, VAT and delivery charges on orders from the EU as retailers on the Continent struggle to cope with Brexit red tape. British customers are facing demands to pay up to a third extra to release their goods from bonded warehouses once they arrive in the UK. The delivery company DPD asked one shopper to pay £77 in tax and charges to release £245 of clothes bought from a French website. Customers say they are not being advised at the checkout that they will be liable for extra costs and many are refusing to pay, forcing delivery companies to return the items. The problems have been caused by rules introduced since the end of the Brexit transition period that require VAT on purchases from the EU to be collected at the point of delivery if the goods cost more than £135. There may also be customs duties if the goods originated, or partly originated, outside the EU. The Times, January 22

Annual £7.5bn cost of EU trade as bad for business as no-deal Brexit
British businesses will spend £7.5 billion a year handling customs declarations, as much as they would have done under a no-deal Brexit, the tax office admitted yesterday. Jim Harra, the chief executive of HM Revenue & Customs, told MPs that the number of customs forms needed to trade with the EU under the Brexit deal “is not materially different from a no-deal situation”. Mr Harra said revenue estimates from October 2019, which found that the cost of no-deal to UK and EU business would be £15 billion a year, still held true under the deal, with half the bill landing on each side. HMRC’s impact assessment said that British businesses would need to handle 215 million more import and export declarations a year. The Times, January 22

Labour calls for more customs agents to cope with Brexit red tape
The government must quadruple the number of customs agents in the UK to ensure businesses struggling with mountains of Brexit red tape do not “buckle” under the strain, Labour has said in a letter to Michael Gove. The shadow chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster, Rachel Reeves, put it to Gove that industry figures showing that only 12,000 customs agents have been trained fell far short of the 50,000 the government accepted last February would be necessary to cope with Brexit. “Can you please … inform me what the government is doing to address this shortfall as swiftly as possible, so that businesses don’t have to deal with even more disruption?” she wrote. Reeves’ letter comes as hauliers, freight forwarders and existing customs agents say businesses are struggling with the new trading regime. Customs agents are the private operators who are contracted to do the paperwork for businesses and are separate to the army of officials recruited by HRMC to check the documents are in order. The Guardian, January 22

Nissan greets Brexit deal as chance to expand range at Sunderland
Nissan is exploring building new models at its Sunderland site, said people familiar with the company’s planning, after the Japanese company’s second-in-command said the Brexit deal had secured the future of Britain’s biggest car plant. Chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said the agreement between the EU and the UK had created a “positive environment” that puts the carmaker at an advantage over rivals that import models to the UK. Two people familiar with internal deliberations said it has started to discuss adding new models to Sunderland, which is running at just over half its potential capacity. Mr Gupta told the FT it was “too early” to allocate new models, but added: “Of course, we will explore more opportunities, but the customer should drive it, and business should drive it.” Financial Times, January 22

US joins global vaccine effort on Biden’s 1st day
Joe Biden’s administration will join global efforts to make Covid-19 vaccines and drugs available around the world, reversing the position of his predecessor Donald Trump and ushering in a new era in health diplomacy. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Thursday that the US would sign up to the World Health Organization’s Covax programme to “advance multilateral efforts” to halt the spread of coronavirus. Speaking to the WHO’s executive board a day after Mr Biden’s inauguration as president, Dr Fauci said he was “honoured” to say the US would remain a member of the global body. “The US stands ready to work in partnership and solidarity to support the international Covid-19 response, mitigate its impact on the world, strengthen our institutions, advance epidemic preparedness for the future and improve the health and wellbeing of all people throughout the world,” Dr Fauci said. Financial Times, January 22

South Africa paying more than double EU price for Oxford vaccine
South Africa will have to buy doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine at a price nearly 2.5 times higher than most European countries, the country’s health ministry has said. The African continent’s worst virus-hit country has ordered at least 1.5m shots of the vaccine from the Serum Institute of India, expected in January and February. A senior health official on Thursday told AFP those doses would cost $5.25 (€4.32) each – nearly two and a half times the amount paid by most European countries. European Union members will pay $2.16 (€1.78) for AstraZeneca’s shots, according to information leaked by a Belgian minister on Twitter. AstraZeneca France told AFP in November that its shots would be capped at €2.50 (around $3) per dose “to provide vaccines to the widest population, with as fair access as possible”. It did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the health ministry’s price quote. The Guardian, January 22

More support for people forced to self-isolate
Ministers in the UK are drawing up plans to give people greater financial support if they are forced to self-isolate after testing positive for Covid-19, amid fears that some are ignoring the rules because they cannot afford to miss work. But allies of Rishi Sunak, chancellor, rejected as “bonkers” one idea that people should be paid a one-off flat rate of £500 to self-isolate, a scheme that would be vastly more expensive than the current one. According to leaked documents obtained by the Guardian, the scheme would cost £453m a week, 12 times the more limited compensation currently offered in England. “It’s the first we’ve heard of it and frankly it’s bonkers,” said one aide to the chancellor. However, ministers recognise there is a problem that needs to be resolved to keep the pandemic under control. Financial Times, January 22

UK borrowing hits highest Dec level on record
UK government borrowing hit £34.1bn last month, the highest December figure on record, as the cost of pandemic support weighed on the economy. It was also the third-highest borrowing figure in any month since records began in 1993, the Office for National Statistics said. The figures underline Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s problems as he prepares his March Budget. Borrowing for this financial year has now reached £270.8bn. That is £212.7bn more than a year ago, the ONS said. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that borrowing could reach £393.5bn by the end of the financial year in March. BBC news, January 22

Activity slows sharply in Germany and France
Business activity has slowed sharply in the eurozone’s two largest economies according to a widely-watched survey of companies, in an early indication that tighter restrictions to contain rising coronavirus infections may cause a double-dip recession in the bloc. Both French and German services businesses reported a decline in activity in January, the survey by IHS Markit found, although manufacturing remained in expansion territory – underlining the two-speed economic impact of the pandemic’s second wave. After chancellor Angela Merkel’s government introduced a tighter lockdown, German services businesses reported their fourth consecutive monthly contraction in January. The IHS Markit flash German services purchasing managers’ index fell to 46.8, down from 47 at the end of last year. The reading was above the 45.3 level predicted on average by economists polled by Reuters, but it remained below the 50 mark which indicates that a majority of businesses reported a contraction in activity from the previous month. Financial Times, January 22

Trump: swift trial after Republicans offer unity
President Biden’s call for unity was met by 17 Republicans with an offer to “rise above the partisan fray” in Congress in a thawing of the trench warfare of the Trump era. Eleven of the congressmen and women who signed a letter to the new president had voted against ratification of the election results two weeks ago and their change of tack suggested a willingness to heed Mr Biden’s plea to “hear me out”. A snap poll suggested that Americans viewed Mr Biden’s start positively, with 83 per cent saying that his inaugural address was good, including 72 per cent of Republicans. However, the spectre of a divisive trial of Donald Trump is hanging over Mr Biden’s fledgling presidency, with the article of impeachment expected to be transferred to the Senate soon … Mr Biden’s closest aides are worried that his attempts at co-operation will also be damaged by Mr Trump’s trial, which must begin within 24 hours of the charge being transmitted to the Senate. Pressure is growing for a swift trial lasting as few as three days. The Times, January 22

Google threat to shut down search in Australia
Google has threatened to remove its search engine from Australia and Facebook has threatened to remove news from its feed for all Australian users if a code forcing the companies to negotiate payments to news media companies goes ahead. The move would mean the 19 million Australians who use Google every month would no longer be able to use Google Search, and 17 million Australians who log into Facebook every month would not be able to see or post any news articles on the social media site. The two companies are fighting against legislation currently before the parliament that would force the digital platforms to enter into negotiations with news media companies for payment for content, with an arbiter to ultimately decide the payment amount if no agreement can be reached. On Friday, Google delivered an ultimatum to the government, saying it would not be viable to continue offering search in Australia if the code goes ahead. The Guardian, January 22

Biden begins a new day in America with appeal to end ‘uncivil war’
Joe Biden called for an end to America’s “uncivil war” as he appealed for unity to heal the country’s deep wounds of toxic political tribalism, the pain of the pandemic and racial strife. After being sworn in as the 46th and oldest president of the United States, Mr Biden, 78, echoed Abraham Lincoln in pledging that “my whole soul is in this” as he implored Americans to join him in “renewal and resolve”. Calling for the country to “start afresh” and come together, Mr Biden declared: “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge.” He had a message for the rest of the globe too: “We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.” His first executive act was to issue a mandate that masks must be worn in federal buildings and grounds to protect against the coronavirus, followed swiftly by orders to rejoin the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organisation, both repudiated by his predecessor, Donald Trump. The Times, January 21

Prepare for worse ports chaos, hauliers told
The Cabinet Office has warned hauliers that Britain’s border controls are about to face their sternest test since the Brexit transition period ended on December 31, The Times has learnt. Government modelling indicates that cross-Channel freight will begin to return to normal in the coming days, raising the prospect of tailbacks at ports and other disruptions if lorry drivers continue to arrive without adequate paperwork or negative Covid-19 tests, a source close to the Cabinet Office said. At the same time a leading investment bank has warned the all-important UK services industry faces increased tariff-like costs of more than a quarter because of greater bureaucracy after the end of the transition period. The source said at the worst point in the past month, one in five lorries bound for the EU was turned back from the UK border because of incorrect paperwork or because the driver could not produce a negative Covid-19 test. The Times, January 21

EU hauliers reject UK jobs over Brexit rules
A British freight company director with more than 20 years’ experience has told how EU hauliers and transport companies are turning their backs on UK business because they are being asked to provide tens of thousands of pounds in guarantees to cover VAT or potential tariffs on arrival in Britain. The financial guarantee requirement did not exist before Brexit and EU transport companies who previously provided a shipping service for small and medium-sized firms have decided they do not want the extra financial burden, according to Colin Jeffries, who runs Key Cargo International in Manchester. “We’ve got people that are trying to bring textiles in from Italy but we are being told there is no haulage availability on that. Nobody’s willing to touch anything because of these guarantees. In Poland, we’re trying to get masks in for PPE in the workplace and we can’t get anyone to bring them over.” The Guardian, January 20

UK and EU in row over bloc’s diplomatic status
A diplomatic row has broken out between the UK and EU over the status of the bloc’s ambassador in London. The UK is refusing to give Joao Vale de Almeida the full diplomatic status that is granted to other ambassadors. The Foreign Office is insisting he and his officials should not have the privileges and immunities afforded to diplomats under the Vienna Convention. It is understood not to want to set a precedent by treating an international body in the same way as a nation state. As it stands, the ambassador would not have the chance to present his credentials to the Queen like other diplomatic heads of mission. The British decision is in marked contrast to 142 other countries around the world where the EU has delegations and where its ambassadors are all granted the same status as diplomats representing sovereign nations … The issue is expected to be discussed by EU foreign ministers next Monday when they meet for the first time since the post-Brexit transition period ended on 31 December. BBC news, January 21