UK PM Johnson says 39 billion pound divorce bill not due in no-deal Brexit

[webfact]

UK PM Johnson says 39 billion pound divorce bill not due in no-deal Brexit

 

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seen during a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, August 25, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

BIARRITZ, France (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, it will no longer legally owe the 39 billion pound ($47.88 billion) divorce bill agreed by his predecessor Theresa May.

 

Earlier British media reported Johnson would use a meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk on the sidelines of the G7 Summit to set out that Britain would pay less than 10 billion pounds of the settlement if it leaves without a deal.

 

Sky News said the figure was 9 billion pounds, while the Sunday Times reported British government lawyers had concluded the amount Britain was legally obliged to pay could be as low as 7 billion pounds.

 

"I think what the entire European Union understands is that if we come out without a deal then...the 39 billion is no longer legally pledged," Johnson told Sky News, when asked if he had told EU leaders this week he planned to withhold the money.

 

"As I’ve said many, many times we will therefore on November 1 have very substantial sums available from that 39 billion to spend on supporting our farmers...and indeed for investment in all sorts of areas."

 

In June, a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said that failing to pay the Brexit bill would amount to a sovereign debt default and on Wednesday an official in his office said that leaving without a deal would not remove Britain's obligation to pay.

 

"There is no magic world in which the bill no longer exists," the French official said on Wednesday.

 

The EU has repeatedly said it will not start negotiating a new trade deal with Britain before the issues of money, the Irish border and citizens rights are settled, so it is likely to return to the fore as a precondition for the EU to start trade talks after Brexit if Britain refuses to pay.

 

Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Johnson and Tusk traded barbs over who would be to blame should Britain leave without a deal at the end of October.

 

($1 = 0.8145 pounds)

 

(Reporting by Wiliam James in Biarritz and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Writing by Kylie MacLellan, Editing by Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-26

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[brucec64]

Item one on agenda of eventual FTA discussions between UK and the EU after the UK crashes and burns out of the EU: Repayment of the 39 billion.
Item two: interest on the 39 billion.

Pay now or pay later. Doesn't really matter.

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[terryw]

If the UK gets a reasonably good FTA with the USA then any future FTA with the EU becomes less important. Why pay for something when a rival will give you a dealfor nothing.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 minutes ago, terryw said:

If the UK gets a reasonably good FTA with the USA

How high do you think is the probability that that will happen?

[JonnyF]

1 hour ago, brucec64 said:

Item one on agenda of eventual FTA discussions between UK and the EU after the UK crashes and burns out of the EU: Repayment of the 39 billion.
Item two: interest on the 39 billion.

Pay now or pay later. Doesn't really matter.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Then the EU must accept tariffs on their 69 billion annual trade surplus.

[OneMoreFarang]

Does the UK want to make any deals with anybody out there in the future?

What should the others think about a possible business partner who ignores what they agreed to not too long ago?

How do people and country leaders react to others who don't pay their bill?

 

But obviously Boris will still blame the EU - pathetic.

[sammieuk1]

Boris is just waiting for the pound to go up one day in the far and distant future then he can claim we only paid half ????

[stevenl]

Since this was part of the divorce bill it makes sense this payment has not been agreed on, so not due.

[flossie35]

He's lying again. Takes us for idiots. Which unfortunately some of us are.

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by blackcab
Font normalised

[sirineou]

8 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Since this was part of the divorce bill it makes sense this payment has not been agreed on, so not due.

I don't know much about this, but was the divorce bill agreed upon , contingent to divorce settlement agreeable to the UK?

[brucec64]

Then the EU must accept tariffs on their 69 billion annual trade surplus.

Try defaulting on your mortgage and then applying for a new one. At any bank. See how that works out for you.

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[blazes]

25 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Boris is just waiting for the pound to go up one day in the far and distant future then he can claim we only paid half ????

 

Someone who doesn't understand how markets work (despite all the daily evidence that anyone can read about).  The only thing markets care about is certainty.  Whether the UK goes in or out is beside the point....either result would bring certainty to the currency markets and therefore the pound would move up.  

[vogie]

5 minutes ago, brucec64 said:

Try defaulting on your mortgage and then applying for a new one. At any bank. See how that works out for you.

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The 39 billion is not a mortgage, if it was you could probably sue the building society, or bank, for lending you the money in the first place and not telling you your next door neighbours will be in charge of your house, and they will tell you, 1. What colour to paint your door, 2. When to cut your grass. And 3. And pay them so much a month for that privilege.

[stevenl]

12 minutes ago, blazes said:

 

Someone who doesn't understand how markets work (despite all the daily evidence that anyone can read about).  The only thing markets care about is certainty.  Whether the UK goes in or out is beside the point....either result would bring certainty to the currency markets and therefore the pound would move up.  

Until reality of brexit sinks in. The pound has been on a downward trend since WWII, give me one reason why that would change now.

[sirineou]

8 minutes ago, blazes said:

 

Someone who doesn't understand how markets work (despite all the daily evidence that anyone can read about).  The only thing markets care about is certainty.  Whether the UK goes in or out is beside the point....either result would bring certainty to the currency markets and therefore the pound would move up.  

That's not true!

 Certainty is not the only thing markets care about, they also care what the certainty indicates.

If it becomes certain that the UK is worst off outside the EU the evaluations of the pound will decline 

Certainty will aid in decision making, but the fundamentals made certain, will shape the direction of the decision takes.. 

[AGareth2]

nothing is agreed until everything is agreed

[Laughing Gravy]

Boris is right to withhold any payment. Obviously TM and her lapdog Ollie Robbins both EU lovers caused this so called divorce bill. Boris is just sticking up for his countries rights.

 

I am surprised the UK hasn't asked for money back on all those lovely EU buildings, as we contributed to paying for them. So rightly we should get our share back, as we are leaving.

[BigFun]

29 minutes ago, blazes said:

 

Someone who doesn't understand how markets work (despite all the daily evidence that anyone can read about).  The only thing markets care about is certainty.  Whether the UK goes in or out is beside the point....either result would bring certainty to the currency markets and therefore the pound would move up.  

Supply and demand no? At least partly for pricing. If the banks leave, due to extra and costly bureaucracy, then the pound will plummet. However, hopefully then manufacturing will become more attractive there once again. This would probably benefit more than those only in the square mile and those after a cheap holiday. Creating real profit again. But the return to manufacturing would take a while to implement. Still could be worth it in the long run if the pound was actually worth something IN the UK ????

[sammieuk1]

31 minutes ago, blazes said:

 

Someone who doesn't understand how markets work (despite all the daily evidence that anyone can read about).  The only thing markets care about is certainty.  Whether the UK goes in or out is beside the point....either result would bring certainty to the currency markets and therefore the pound would move up.  

And Someone who understands how markets work must be you didn't realise their was an expert in the house £ crisis solved????

[Sticky Wicket]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Does the UK want to make any deals with anybody out there in the future?

What should the others think about a possible business partner who ignores what they agreed to not too long ago?

How do people and country leaders react to others who don't pay their bill?

 

But obviously Boris will still blame the EU - pathetic.

Everyone can see how intransigent & petty the EU are being in this deal.

It won't affect deals with other countries.

[fishtank]

Boris the clown is even more deluded than we all thought.

Not meeting our legal obligations will get us a long way when making deals with anybody in the future.

[Sticky Wicket]

17 minutes ago, BigFun said:

Supply and demand no? At least partly for pricing. If the banks leave, due to extra and costly bureaucracy, then the pound will plummet. However, hopefully then manufacturing will become more attractive there once again. This would probably benefit more than those only in the square mile and those after a cheap holiday. Creating real profit again. But the return to manufacturing would take a while to implement. Still could be worth it in the long run if the pound was actually worth something IN the UK ????

Banks will not leave! Where are they going to go?

Absolute rubbish.

They will have small offices in the EU to meet statutory/regulatory requirements.

That's it!

[vogie]

7 minutes ago, fishtank said:

Boris the clown is even more deluded than we all thought.

Not meeting our legal obligations will get us a long way when making deals with anybody in the future.

Spot the deluded one, I'll give you a clue, he is on the end and it isn't the left.

 

[Sticky Wicket]

6 minutes ago, vogie said:

Spot the deluded one, I'll give you a clue, he is on the end and it isn't the left.

 

There really are some odious ideologically possessed creatures in control of the EU.

They will do anything to keep the dream alive, including risking lives and businesses.

[ThePioneer]

15 minutes ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Banks will not leave! Where are they going to go?

Absolute rubbish.

They will have small offices in the EU to meet statutory/regulatory requirements.

That's it!

So better informed sources think different

 

https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/banks-to-flee-london-even-if-brexit-is-cancelled-20190128

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-factbox/factbox-impact-on-banks-from-britains-vote-to-leave-the-eu-idUSKBN1O31FE

[Baht Simpson]

1 hour ago, blazes said:

 

Someone who doesn't understand how markets work (despite all the daily evidence that anyone can read about).  The only thing markets care about is certainty.  Whether the UK goes in or out is beside the point....either result would bring certainty to the currency markets and therefore the pound would move up.  

There's no certainty in currency trading, blazes. You can only take a view on short term or possibly long term stability. I agree though that with a deal sterling would bounce. Even with a no deal it might recover somewhat. Even so it would be potentially financially disastrous due to other factors. 

Edited August 26, 2019 by Baht Simpson

[Sticky Wicket]

18 minutes ago, ThePioneer said:

So better informed sources think different

 

https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/banks-to-flee-london-even-if-brexit-is-cancelled-20190128

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-factbox/factbox-impact-on-banks-from-britains-vote-to-leave-the-eu-idUSKBN1O31FE

7000 jobs out of 1.1 million and a few quid trf'd. That's less than 1%!!

As I said it's prudent to do so and will be mainly for legal & stat requirements.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Sticky Wicket

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, terryw said:

If the UK gets a reasonably good FTA with the USA then any future FTA with the EU becomes less important. Why pay for something when a rival will give you a dealfor nothing.

Nothing is for nothing.

The UK will have to concede on many issues to get a deal, particularly if the EU bridge has been set alight.

Bojo brought up pork pies but no mention of haggis. Many are probably unaware of how many restrictions there are in the US, but think everything is so easy.

[St George]

19 minutes ago, ThePioneer said:

So better informed sources think different

 

https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/banks-to-flee-london-even-if-brexit-is-cancelled-20190128

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-factbox/factbox-impact-on-banks-from-britains-vote-to-leave-the-eu-idUSKBN1O31FE

 

 

There is more to life than investment banking.

 

 

Do you really think that London will no longer be a major financial centre ?

 

 

Project Fear is obviously working for you.

[Nigel Garvie]

25 minutes ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Banks will not leave! Where are they going to go?

Absolute rubbish.

They will have small offices in the EU to meet statutory/regulatory requirements.

That's it!

I note pioneer has already addressed this, but just to give a helping hand:-

Banks have ALREADY left London, which planet were you on the last 2 years?

 

Try something simple like google "banks leave london brexit", you'll be able to find out where they have gone/ are going. I'll give you a start- Frankfurt, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam.

or https://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/3000398/brexit-banks-moving-out-of-london

Before someone tries to claim that it is all project fear, or MSM remainer bias please note:-

This site is a careers advisory service, providing advice to people working in the banking sector, not a political rag.