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The day after Johnson's victory: Does the Free Trade Agreement with Britain hurt Israel? | Israel today

2019-12-16T16:08:05.294Z


Political-political


Israel agreed that controversial areas held by the United Kingdom will be exempt from customs duties, while the Golan, East Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria will not benefit from the exemption

  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson // Photo: Haim Zach

Has Israel hurt its own interest in the Free Trade Agreement between it and the United Kingdom? Shortly after the British people voted for the Barcaze three years ago, talks between Israel and the United Kingdom began on a bilateral free trade agreement between the states. The agreement was signed as early as February 2019 and was conditional on it coming into effect only when the Barcasit was actually implemented. It is intended to replace the free trade agreement between Israel and the EU. Now with Boris Johnson's election victory, Britain is expected to step down from the union in a short time and therefore the agreement between her and Israel will come into force.

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However, in the territorial chapter of the agreement, there was a noticeable gap between its extended applicability with regard to the United Kingdom and its limited applicability with regard to Israel. According to a statement by the British Economy to the UK Parliament, Israel agreed that the agreement would apply to disputed areas where British sovereignty was partially and internationally contested. "To avoid doubt ... as far as the United Kingdom is concerned, this agreement will apply to all territories of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the territories it is internationally responsible for," Article 47 of the Post said. This refers to the places of Gibraltar's patronage that it requires to receive Spain, or the Falkland Islands, which Argentina requires.

Tora Winery in Rachelim, Samaria // Photo: Dudi Vaaknin

On the other hand, in Article 48 that deals with Israel, the applicability of the agreement is limited and includes only areas where Israel's sovereignty is internationally recognized and not disputed. "As far as Israel is concerned ... Products manufactured in Israeli settlements located in areas brought under Israeli rule in 1967 are not eligible for preference." So while the British made sure to emphasize the extended scope of the agreement, Israel agreed to be limited so that it did not apply even where it declared sovereignty, such as the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, nor in areas considered "controversial territories", ie Judea and Samaria.

Photo by Eldad Beck

Throughout the document, it is emphasized that the agreement between Israel and the United Kingdom came to replace the arrangements that were customary between Israel and the EU, and therefore adopts them almost one by one. Against this background, there may be a possibility that new negotiations between Israel and the United Kingdom will take place in the future, where all details of the agreement will be re-discussed. However, international law professor Prof. Eugene Kontorovich of the Ecclesiastical Forum, which has revealed the applicability gaps of the agreement, says that it was possible and necessary to maintain equal applicability between the parties.

Golan jeep tour

"After the British Barracks were under pressure to reach independent free trade agreements with other countries and Israel was the first to sign such an agreement, British pressure could be used to improve conditions. But more importantly, the British hold 'internationally disputed territories' like us. Agree that the agreement will include their disputed areas and waive the inclusion of our disputed areas ?! ", asks Kontorowitz of the Ecclesiastical Forum.

Kontorovich also proposes to amend the agreement. "Since the discrepancies are written in a parliamentary statement and are not part of the body agreement, they can be easily corrected. At the same time as the adoption of the agreement, they will send parallel letters or statements stating that just as the agreement applies to all territories that the UK has" international responsibility ", it also mutually responds Israel, and without the parties taking issue with the sovereign status of those areas. "

No response was received from the Bureau of Economic and Foreign Affairs.

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2019-12-16

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