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WQ.166/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS BY DEPUTY K.F. MOREL OF ST. LAWRENCE
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 12th MAY 2020
Question
"Will the Minister provide the Assembly with an update on the Government's Brexit planning activity, including an overview of any key matters that have yet to be resolved, and detail what have been assessed as the highest risk matters from Jersey's perspective?"
Answer
As States Members will know, we are in the second phase of the Brexit process, the transition period. The UK is currently negotiating its future relationship with the EU, as well as initiating discussions on Free Trade Agreements with priority third countries, and the Government of Jersey continues to ensure the Island's interests are understood and fed into these negotiations.
Four key principles, agreed by Ministers at the beginning of the transition phase, guide the Government of Jersey's analysis and input into the UK's discussions:
• promote Jersey's existing constitutional autonomy, unique economic interests and cultural heritage;
• maintain and strengthen Jersey's reputation as a well administered jurisdiction that is responsible for its own prosperity;
• uphold the long-established rights and privileges of Jersey residents and businesses that enable them to trade and remain agile, innovative and competitive as Jersey seeks to grow and diversify its economy; and
• maintain or increase the ability of the States Assembly and Government of Jersey to make decisions expeditiously in areas of domestic policy, including where close collaboration with the UK Government and EU is required.
We constantly assess the risks associated with the United Kingdom's exit from with the EU, and from an early stage the key focus has been to preserve our trade and supply arrangements with the UK. This has been achieved through the Customs Union arrangement we have agreed with the UK and one of our consistent priorities is ensuring these arrangements are appropriately reflected in the terms of a Free Trade Agreement with the EU, and any other trade agreements with third countries.
As with any negotiation, the outcomes are not certain until final agreement has been reached; however, to mitigate the risks associated with this uncertainty, we will continue as a contingency to prepare Jersey for the UK's economic exit from the EU on the basis that World Trade Organisation trading terms could be the default trading terms with the EU.
We will continue to provide 6 monthly update reports to the Assembly on the progress of Brexit, the next report of which is due at the end of June.