{"id":15083,"date":"2020-10-09T18:36:51","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T18:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/?p=15083"},"modified":"2021-02-23T18:40:03","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T18:40:03","slug":"british-government-threatens-to-break-international-law-so-whats-new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2020\/10\/09\/british-government-threatens-to-break-international-law-so-whats-new\/","title":{"rendered":"British Government Threatens To Break International Law – So What’s New?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are posting this article from Socialist Democracy (Ireland) commenting on the widespread surprise over Boris Johnson’s preparedness to break UK agreements. This is\u00a0something with a history that long precedes Johnson’s Right populists.<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Boris ties himself in knots over Withdrawal Deal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\nFor England, there is no alliance that holds, no treaty which is respected, no truth which matters.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Charles de Gaulle in his memoirs<\/p>\n

As the negotiations on a post Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU move into a critical period the British government have sought to up the ante by introducing a bill at Westminster that would allow it to renege on parts of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA).\u00a0 A day prior to its introduction the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis stated quite clearly in the Commons that it would indeed \u201cbreak international law\u201d though only in \u201ca very specific and limited way\u201d.\u00a0 This statement caused quite a stir.\u00a0 Politicians and commentators were aghast that the government would contemplate such a course of action and risk tarnishing Britain\u2019s reputation as an upholder of law.\u00a0 Of course such a reputation only exists in their mythologised view of the UK rather than in reality.\u00a0 As the quote from Charles de Gaulle at the head of this article indicates – Britain has a long history of duplicity in its dealings with other nations.\u00a0 What caused offence was the bald manner in which it was stated on this occasion.<\/p>\n

Internal Market Bill<\/h3>\n

As it turned out the provisions of the bill that was published were more far reaching than had been initially claimed.\u00a0 It proposes giving the British government the power to unilaterally alter the sections of the WA that relate to the export of goods from Northern Ireland and to rules around state aid.\u00a0 Although these were the only two specific areas mentioned thus far the provisions of the bill would allow the government to revise other parts of WA and also “any other EU law or international law”.\u00a0 Its provisions will have effect “notwithstanding inconsistency or incompatibility with international or other domestic law” while ministers can make regulations which ignore \u201cany other legislation, convention or rule of international or domestic law whatsoever, including any order, judgment or decision of the European court or of any other court or tribunal\u201d.\u00a0 The Internal Market Bill is effectively an enabling act that gives the British government a free hand to renege on any agreements it has entered into.<\/p>\n

It also points to the the type of economy that will exist in a post Brexit UK. The main target of the powers created by the Internal Market Bill are the level playing field provisions of the WA that broadly align the UK with the EU in terms of standards related to employment, food production and the environment.\u00a0 While the current focus is on state aid these other areas must be included.\u00a0 Indeed, state aid is a bit of a red herring as it is unlikely that the UK will move towards an economy in which there is greater government support for industry.\u00a0 Talk of a British version of silicon valley or a British space programme is just pie in the sky.\u00a0 What is more likely is a race to the bottom in which the UK seeks an advantage over its rivals through rapid deregulation. The implication of this is an all out assault on the living standards of the British working class.<\/p>\n

No deal?<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Although the actions of the British government have raised the prospect of a no deal Brexit it still remains an unlikely outcome because of the damaging economic consequences for both the UK and EU.\u00a0 However, it is not the case that both sides will endure an equal amount of pain.\u00a0 The unequal relationship – in terms of GDP, population size and trade – between the UK and the EU means that the overwhelming share of that pain will fall on the British.\u00a0 The claim by Brexiteers that EU states will come to terms because they need the UK more that the UK needs them, or because a no deal Brexit will be devastating to their economies, is completely bogus.\u00a0 For the EU a no deal outcome would be damaging but for the UK it would be catastrophic.\u00a0 As one EU diplomat is reported as saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking away from the table and going for a no deal will hit the UK economy and UK jobs much harder than the EU economy and EU jobs. One wonders whether this is really a negotiation or pure masochism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The negotiations – ongoing since 2016 – have demonstrated that the UK is more in need of a deal than the EU.\u00a0 A no deal option has always been there as the British were free to walk away at any time.\u00a0 Despite the threats to do so, and the claim that a \u201cno deal was better than a bad deal\u201d, they never contemplated such a move.\u00a0 Indeed, both Theresa May and Boris Johnson signed up to arrangements, such as the \u201cbackstop\u201d and the \u201cborder down the Irish Sea\u201d, that they had previously vowed never to accept.\u00a0 The problem for the British Conservative party is that such deals can never satisfy the demands of the most ardent Brexiteers or accommodate the bigotry of those sections of the population that form the bedrock of its support base.\u00a0 At the same time they are seeking to promote the interests of a capitalist class and a state apparatus who – while accommodating themselves to some form of Brexit – certainly don\u2019t favour a destabilising rupture with the EU.\u00a0 We see these tensions in the criticisms of the British government\u2019s actions voiced by former Prime Ministers and in the resignations of senior civil servants.<\/p>\n

The EU for its part cannot concede on the central tenet of Brexit – which in its most basic form – is a demand for the UK to be able continue to enjoy the benefits of the customs union and the single market without following any of the rules and regulations.\u00a0 To allow this would result in the dissolution of the EU as a political and economic bloc.\u00a0 These irreconcilable positions, combined with the unequal weight of the parties, have produced a repetitive pattern in negotiations of the British making demands that are rebuffed by the EU and then subsequently signing up a deal that falls well short of the Brexit ideal.\u00a0 The material reality of relations between the EU and the UK always prevails over ideology.\u00a0 The same will likely happen again with the threats over reneging on the Withdrawal Agreement giving way to agreement.\u00a0 This is why the EU\u2019s reaction to the British government\u2019s posturing has been relatively restrained – expressing its disapproval but continuing with negotiations.<\/p>\n

Ireland<\/h3>\n

If the Brexit negotiations have shown the relative weakness of the UK they have shown the absolute weakness of the Irish state.\u00a0 The prospect of a no deal has sent the Irish political class into shock. Taoiseach Micheal Martin claimed that the threat by the British to breach international law was \u201ca new departure\u201d while Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney described the developments in London as \u201can extraordinary change in approach from the UK government\u201d.\u00a0 Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also expressed his shock at such a turn of events:<\/p>\n

\u201cBritain is an honest, honourable country full of honest people, it\u2019s the country of the Magna Carta, the country that helped defend parliamentary democracy, it\u2019s not a rogue state.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he contradicted himself soon after by recalling the negotiations of last year in which \u201cthe strategy and behaviour of the British government was one of brinkmanship, was one of threatening to crash out, \u2018if we don\u2019t get an agreement we might go kamikaze on you\u2019, that sort of thing.\u201d\u00a0 What he didn\u2019t recall was his own role in those negotiations when he gave up the \u201cIrish Backstop\u201d for the much weaker \u201cNorthern Ireland Protocol\u201d.<\/p>\n

In these statements Irish political leaders are displaying great naivety – or more likely thorough dishonesty – in their assessment of Britain\u2019s honourable intentions towards Ireland.\u00a0\u00a0 A cursory examination of Irish history would easily disprove this.\u00a0 But we don\u2019t even have to look back on history.\u00a0 All the way through the current negotiations Britain has played up8 the potentially ruinous consequences of Brexit for Ireland as a means to exert pressure and win concessions from the EU.\u00a0 Indeed, Boris Johnson could only have been encouraged by his last direct engagement with the Irish government which resulted in the removal of the backstop.\u00a0 However, the strategy of squeezing Ireland has its limits.\u00a0 Ultimately it is the EU – and the dominant member states such as Germany and France – who will determine the position the bloc takes and decide what is acceptable in terms of an agreement with the UK.\u00a0 In that the overriding priority will be the integrity of the internal market and customs union not the Irish economy.\u00a0 If there is a no deal the EU will enforce its rules and regulations and there will be a hard border across Ireland.<\/p>\n

The reaction of political parties in the north has centred around the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and whether the provisions in the Internal Market Bill would constitute a breach.\u00a0 Sinn Fein and the SDLP argue that the GFA offers some defence against Brexit but can\u2019t point to anything in the document that touches on trade or market regulation.\u00a0 All that they offer is some vague notion that EU membership was blurring out the border and, by implication, pointing towards a united Ireland.\u00a0 A no deal Brexit that results in the appearance of vehicle inspection depots and customs posts would shatter that illusion. It would also dispel the accompanying and contradictory myth that Brexit has created a new impetus for Irish unity.\u00a0 The reality is that the dynamics of Brexit tend towards a strengthening of partition.<\/p>\n

The GFA, while often referenced as an international treaty, carries little weight.\u00a0 Parts of it (such as the proposed Bill of Rights) were never implemented and it has also been significantly revised by subsequent agreements.\u00a0 That it can be cited by the DUP as a argument against the proposed border in the Irish Sea really shows how threadbare the GFA has become.\u00a0 What makes this particularly ludicrous is the fact that the DUP opposed the GFA and supported Brexit!\u00a0 The reality is that the northern parties are desperately latching on to anything to make their case.\u00a0 That they are reduced to this highlights their lack of political influence.\u00a0 This is seen most starkly with the DUP who have gone from king maker at Westminster to bit player.\u00a0 While the party is supporting the Internal Market Bill it had no role in its formulation.\u00a0 Just a week before the introduction of the Bill the DUP leader Arlene Foster conceded that unionists had to work within the Withdrawal Agreement and \u201crecognise that that is the reality now”.\u00a0 Another illustration of the power relationship between the British government and unionists came over the construction of checking facilities at northern ports when a instruction by a DUP minister to halt work was reversed after an intervention by London.<\/p>\n

Trade agreement<\/h3>\n

Despite the talking up of a no deal Brexit such an outcome still remains unlikely.\u00a0 The evidence – such as the example above – is that the British are continuing with preparations to operate the Withdrawal Agreement.\u00a0 While there may be some minor adjustments – which will be hailed a victory for Boris Johnson – the substantive elements of the Agreement will remain in place.<\/p>\n

Although the WA provides a framework for future trade between the EU and UK it is not a trade deal in itself, and given the differences between the parties, it is unlikely that there will be a comprehensive trade agreement in place by the end of the year.\u00a0\u00a0 What is more likely to emerge is a bare bones agreement under which the UK continues to follow EU regulations in a number of essential areas such as food and medicines, and also in some industrial sectors, but with trade in all other goods and services conducted under WTO rules.\u00a0 While this avoids the massive disruption of a no deal it is still a hard version of Brexit which will see the introduction of tariffs and regulatory checks.\u00a0 It will also have a depressing economic effect that will be felt most acutely in Ireland due to the dependence of its indigenous economy on the GB market.<\/p>\n

Alternative<\/h3>\n

The experience of Brexit demonstrates the delusion of nationalistic projects in the era of increasing economic integration.\u00a0 These are trends that can\u2019t be overturned by a vote or an appeal to ideology.\u00a0 The \u201cideal\u201d of Brexit has been impossible to achieve because it has constantly come into conflict with this material reality.\u00a0 But if Brexit is a failure of British nationalism it also represents a failure on the part of an EU which has proved incapable of creating a unified political and economic structure for Europe.<\/p>\n

In this situation the working class must take an independent position which neither retreats into a form of nationalism or holds illusions in the progressive character of the EU.\u00a0 The integration of European economies and states should be supported by the workers movement because it contains within it the potential of a unified working class and the foundations of a future socialist society.\u00a0 However, such a future can only be realised if workers as a class are contesting to guide that process of integration.\u00a0 It will not come about under the the leadership of the capitalist class. This is why the historic slogan of a \u201cUnited Socialist Europe\u201c retains such relevance today.<\/p>\n

30th September 2020<\/p>\n

This article was first posted at:- British government threatens to renege on Withdrawal Agreement<\/a><\/p>\n

______________________
\nalso see:-
\nBREXIT SCAM \u2013 UP THE GARDEN PATH WITH LEO AND BORIS<\/a><\/p>\n

EU RECOVERY PLAN \u2013 PULLING TOGETHER OR FALLING APART?<\/a><\/p>\n

BREXIT HASN\u2019T GONE AWAY \u2013 THE VIEW FROM IRELAND<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are posting this article from Socialist Democracy (Ireland) commenting on the widespread surprise over Boris Johnson’s preparedness to break UK agreements. This is\u00a0something with a history that long precedes Johnson’s Right populists. For England, there is no alliance that holds, no treaty which is respected, no truth which matters. Charles de Gaulle in his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1843,1873,1846,1847],"tags":[6528],"class_list":["post-15083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-capitalists-organise","category-against-unionism","category-british-imperialism","category-the-eu","tag-author-socialist-democracy-ireland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"views":1784,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15083"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17811,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15083\/revisions\/17811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}