Source : Deloitte

This week’s top 5:

• EU Council President Charles Michel has said the negotiations with the UK are ongoing and the EU is “working to make a deal possible with the UK”. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen added that the negotiations had been intensified and they were “boiling down” to the level playing field and fisheries. Both were speaking at a press conference after an EU-Canada Leaders meeting.
• Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has said it will be “fairly straightforward” to agree a “seamless transition” to a “Canada-UK Free Trade Agreement”. Speaking at the same press conference, Trudeau said a deal with Canada would give “certainty to Canadian and British companies”.
• The UK signed its first major trade deal with Japan with the estimated boost to trade between both countries to be over £15 billion. International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss said: “The agreement also has a much wider strategic significance. It opens a clear pathway to membership of the Comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership – which will open new opportunities for British business and boost our economic security”.
• Leo Varadkar, Irish Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, has tweeted encouraging business to get ready for Brexit, saying he “know[s] how though this year has been for business”, but that Brexit becomes a reality “in fewer than 70 days” and “now is the time to act and get ready”.
• On Monday, the UK government published a policy paper providing further guidance on accounting for VAT on goods moving between Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland (NI) from 1 January 2021. Further details of the policy changes can be found in our pulse alerts.