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**Hugh** · 17-10-2018, 14:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456

Could you link to this rule as you seem to know so much about it?
Preferably from the WTO site.

How about some recent comments from the Head of the WTO about the impact of a no-deal (nothing about WTO and a hard border, as that is an EU/U.K. thing).

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/b...-a8505946.html

Quote:

It is “not realistic” to believe the UK can begin trading under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules the day after Brexit in March, the head of the intergovernmental group has said.

“I was a trade negotiator; I negotiated trade deals my whole life and I’m very realistic about how fast you can go with those deals.” WTO director-general Roberto Azevêdo told the BBC’s Today programme.

“The moment that other countries begin to sense an opportunity to increase their market share or increase a quota here or there, they are going to go for that.

“There is going to be a lot of uncertainty here; there will be ... unpredictability and people who are making investments are going to take that into account.”

Most predictions about the impact of a no-deal scenario have been based on trading under WTO rules after Brexit, which is due to happen in seven months’ time.

But Mr Azevêdo said it was “very unlikely that you’re going to have a 100 per cent agreed outcome for all WTO members between now and March”.

If an agreement is not reached with the EU and WTO rules are not immediately available, the UK would be in uncharted territory, as it would be unclear what rules and tariffs apply to imports and exports.

The WTO boss’s comments cast further doubt on the assertion made last month by the UK’s international trade secretary, Liam Fox, that leaving the EU with no agreement would be better than prolonging talks with Brussels, the latter a move he claimed would be a “complete betrayal” of voters.

If the UK does shift to WTO rules, Mr Azevêdo said some sectors will face significantly higher tariffs.

“It’s not going to be the end of the world, in the sense that trade is going to stop and that everything is going to fall down, no. But it’s not going to be a walk in the park either,” he added.

The only thing I can find relating to the WTO and a hard border is this FT article, which is mostly about the same stuff as above.

https://www.ft.com/content/4f0ea43e-...a-7342fe5e173f

Quote:

The WTO could also object to Britain’s proposed border system with the EU, the so-called facilitated customs arrangements. UK trade secretary Mr Fox said last month that: “There is no way with a system that has never been tested before to know whether the WTO will regard it as compliant.”

And there’s this from the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the recent Tory Party conference.

https://www.politico.eu/article/phil...o-brexit-deal/

Quote:

Philip Hammond: UK will enforce hard border in Ireland if there is no Brexit deal

BIRMINGHAM, England — Britain would have to enforce controls on the Irish border if the U.K. leaves the European Union without a deal, Chancellor Philip Hammond said Monday.

In remarks that appear to undermine the official government position that the U.K. will do all it can to avoid border checks after Brexit, Hammond said that under World Trade Organization rules, London would have no choice but to reinstate checks.

Speaking at a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Hammond said: “The challenges around the Irish border are around the legal requirements we will have if we are not in a trade bloc within the European Union to operate the WTO-compliant border, which does require checks at the border. That’s what the WTO rules require.”

“We are depending on the WTO to regulate our relations with the rest of the world, we will have to comply with the rest of WTO regulations or we will find we can’t enforce our WTO rights against others,” he said.