U.K.’s Global Trade Deals Still Pose a Huge Pre-Brexit Challenge
The U.K.’s trade deal with the European Union isn’t the only massive project that British negotiators must contend with before they quit the bloc at the end of the year. With just months to go until Britain exits, with or without a deal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Trade Secretary Liz Truss are also racing to keep the many trade deals the U.K. currently enjoys as a result of its membership with the EU.
There are about 70 of them covering about 15% of the U.K.’s trade, and while Britain has made “considerable progress” according to the UK Government, so-called “continuity deals” with some of the most important countries in that group including Canada, Japan and Turkey have yet to materialize.
If the U.K. leaves the EU with no agreement, it will trade with those 27 countries under terms set by the World Trade Organization. Fresh agreements with the U.S., Australia and New Zealand are also a priority; one of the main arguments for Brexit was that Britain would be free to pursue better deals unshackled from Europe
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Coronavirus Hits United States’ Key Apple, Cherry Farms
The coronavirus hits U.S. food supply chain again. A surge in coronavirus cases in one of the country’s top regions for apples and sweet cherries is challenging agricultural operations already limited by rules aimed at preventing such outbreaks, underscoring the difficulty of keeping farmworkers safe.
Recent emergency regulations issued by Washington state to curb outbreaks of coronavirus among farmworkers living in temporary housing are slowing fieldwork in Yakima Valley, but the virus is still spreading, according to agricultural employers and the Yakima Health District. On farms that produce $1 billion of apples, sweet cherries, and other crops each year, employers are hiring fewer guest workers and delaying their arrival.
The difficulty of keeping workers healthy in Yakima indicates how hard it has become to safeguard agriculture’s workforce, intensifying questions about how best to prevent outbreaks in labour-intensive workplaces. Growing outbreaks among farmworkers nationwide come as most employers are looking to reduce the threat of outbreaks among their workers and the coronavirus continues to sicken workers at U.S. meatpacking plants.
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Uber will launch US grocery delivery this month
Uber will introduce grocery delivery in the U.S. this month through its main app and Uber Eats, the company announced this week. The rollout will begin in Dallas and Miami, where the company recently soft launched with partner Cornershop, before expanding to other cities.
The ride-hailing and meal delivery company launched the service on Tuesday in 19 cities across Latin America and Canada. The company is partnering with chain grocers as well as regional players. In Montreal and Toronto, shoppers can receive deliveries from Walmart and Metro stores.
Order collection and deliveries are performed by workers with Cornershop, the Chile-based grocery app that Uber moved to acquire last year and can be fulfilled in under two hours. Shoppers with Uber Pass and Uber Eats memberships will get free delivery on any order over $30.
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