THE UK's post-Brexit trade deal with the EU leaves workers’ rights and environmental protections at risk and will slow the economic recovery, a think tank has warned.
The IPPR assessment was published today and says that the bar for proof of breaches of the “level playing field” to safeguard the issues is so high that it will be rarely enforced.
Boris Johnson has insisted that the UK will not regress on the issues and vowed to use the “legislative and regulatory freedoms to deliver for people who felt left behind”.
As MPs look over the 1246-page treaty to see if they can give their backing, the IPPR added to criticism of the deal from the fishing industry.
READ MORE: ‘Massive sell-out’ as Brexit deal fine print reveals Scots fishermen betrayal
The chief executive of Scottish White Fish Producers Association described the deal as “a betrayal by the UK Government on the Scottish industry”, while the head of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation said the broken promises were “hugely disappointing.”
The SNP have described the treatment of the sector as a "massive sell-out".
Marley Morris, a director focusing on trade and EU relations, warned that the commitment in the deal not to decrease current standards in a bid to gain an unfair competitive advantage is “considerably weaker than expected” and sets “a very high bar for proof”.
“Given it is notoriously difficult to prove that any lowering of protections affects trade or investment, the deal is unlikely to prevent the UK Government from weakening EU-derived labour and environmental policies if it so chooses,” his report says.
He added: “This leaves protections for workers, climate and the environment at serious risk of being eroded.”
The IPPR also said that by the UK having “watered down” the level playing field requirements to secure “only limited benefits in market access” there will be a blow to trade.
There will likely be disruption to trade flows, including at the border, in the short-term while barriers to trading with the nation’s biggest partner will “likely lead to slower growth and a more prolonged economic recovery” from the Covid-19 pandemic, the analysis says.
“This thin deal is better than no deal at all, but still creates major trade barriers with our closest neighbour, which will inhibit growth and slow the economic recovery,” Morris added.
A UK Government spokesperson responded that ministers are “fully committed” to upholding the “high standards” agreed in the trade deal.
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A hasty analysis of the treaty secured on Christmas Eve began in earnest when it was published in full yesterday with less than a week before its implementation.
In his first interview since brokering the agreement, Johnson denied the UK would regress on workers’ rights and environmental standards, two issues both sides have committed to uphold in the deal.
The Tory leader told the Sunday Telegraph: “All that’s really saying is the UK won’t immediately send children up chimneys or pour raw sewage all over its beaches. We’re not going to regress, and you’d expect that.”
He said that Chancellor Rishi Sunak is “doing a big exercise” on business taxes and regulation alongside a “great Government effort” for new plans for after the transition period ends on December 31.
But Jonhson said it “perhaps would not have been fruitful” to discuss them publicly during negotiations, as he listed animal welfare regulations, data and chemicals, alongside existing plans to establish low-tax freeports.
The Prime Minister did, however, acknowledge that the treaty “perhaps does not go as far as we would like” over access to EU markets for financial services.
Johnson has said that, although he accepts that “the devil is in the detail” of the deal, he believes that it will stand up to inspection from the European Research Group (ERG) of Brexiteers.
The group has convened a self-styled “star chamber” of lawyers led by veteran Eurosceptic MP Sir Bill Cash to examine the full text ahead of a Commons vote on December 30.
The agreement will almost certainly be passed by Parliament, with Labour supporting it, as the alternative would be a chaotic No-Deal situation on January 1.
Meanwhile, the EU’s 27 member states indicated they will within days give their formal backing to the deal.
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