Brexit Weekly Digest 23 January

The chancellor has warned manufacturers that "there will not be alignment" with the EU after Brexit and insists firms must "adjust" to new regulations.
Speaking to the Financial Times , Sajid Javid admitted not all businesses would benefit from Brexit.
The Food and Drink Federation said it sounded like the "death knell" for frictionless trade with the EU and was likely to cause food prices to rise.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-politics-51157933

The government must urgently publish its negotiating objectives for the next stage of Brexit talks, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has said, as it warned that business needs time to prepare for a new relationship with the EU by the end of the year. In a survey, the IoD found that directors are holding back on investment in business because of the continued uncertainty over Brexit.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jan/21/business-leaders-urge-government-to-publish-aims-for-brexit-deal

Policy makers need to account for regional variations when planning how to help British firms adapt to life outside the EU. Focusing on Kent’s future relationship with the EU, Jagjit Chadha, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said that Brexit had “thrown sand into the wheels of trade”, noting that the county’s location would mean that it would be among those regions most seriously hit by any disruption in UK-EU trade. “Businesses in this area should be asking for a bit more support, because they will be more directly affected by the consequences of leaving the EU,” he told the conference.
https://www.director.co.uk/regional-brexit-kent-business-summit/

Bloomberg suggests that the U.K. is clearly in a tough spot, as growth falters and inflation slips well below the Bank’s target of 2%. The economy contracted by 0.3% in the month to November, following meager 0.1% increases in September and October. Consumer prices rose a mere 1.3% in the year to December, the lowest jump since 2016. Core inflation, a measure that strips out volatile items such as energy, also fell to 1.4%.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-01-15/boris-johnson-should-accept-mark-carney-s-gift-of-a-boe-rate-cut

Wales will receive a "substantial sum of money" through a new fund to replace EU economic aid after Brexit, the new Welsh secretary has pledged.
Simon Hart said the Shared Prosperity Fund will ensure cash will be targeted at the areas where it is "most needed".
The new fund aims to reduce inequalities across the four UK nations, Conservative ministers say
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-51123588

The EU will tell the UK that it must maintain higher labour and environmental standards than some of its own member states and that it will put the socioeconomic interests of its fishing communities at the centre of its post-Brexit negotiating strategy, diplomats have heard. Diplomats briefed by the European commission on Tuesday were informed that the UK would need to commit to staying beyond the common basic minimum of standards applied to EU member states.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/14/eu-will-protect-fishing-communities-in-post-brexit-talks