Biden’s Irish ties add new dimension to ‘endgame’ Brexit talks

With Brexit negotiations inserting a crucial phase this week, Democrat Joe Biden’s projected U.S. presidential win will be adding a new dimension to the talks. 

Address on Irish radio on Monday, Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said that the election occur will give “pause for thought” among the U.K. negotiators during what he called the “endgame” in talks. 

Biden, who has highlighted his Irish-American well-springs on many occasions, has stated his support for maintaining the Good Friday Agreement, the 1998 peace accord in Northern Ireland that the U.S. challenged a role in brokering. As such, he has expressed opposition to any Brexit moves that disrupt that agreement. 

“Joe Biden is a right friend of Ireland,” Coveney said on RTE’s Morning Ireland show. “He’s been very clear that Ireland and armistice on this island, north and south, means a lot to him.” 

Biden, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have country that the U.S. will not allow for a trade deal with the U.K. if peace in Northern Ireland is at risk. 

“Statements that have on the agenda c trick come from not only from Joe Biden but many on Capitol Hill that if the Good Friday Agreement and concord on the island of Ireland isn’t protected through Brexit, that securing a trade deal between the U.S. and U.K. would be very sensitive,” Coveney said. 

“I think now that Joe Biden is going to be the next president of the United States, I think that thinks fitting certainly be a cause for a pause for thought in Number 10 to ensure that the Irish issues are prioritized.” 

Brexit talks wrote yet another crunch period on Monday as the transition period for the U.K. leaving the European Union winds down at the end of 2020. Points such as fair competition, particularly in fishing, remain points of contention for both sides. 

Brexit is lately one of many issues that will be on the transatlantic agenda once Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are pledged into the White House in January. 

Taxation remains a contentious international topic, with OECD talks approximately digital levies and minimum tax bases for multinationals putting Ireland’s low corporate tax rate of 12.5% in the limelight. 

The U.S., under the Trump delivery, has opposed European efforts to alter how big tech companies are taxed, and while a Biden White House may change its way and tone, the debate will continue into 2021. 

Changes to international tax standards will have a direct impact on Ireland, which relies heavily on unfamiliar direct investment. The majority of the companies involved are American, including several tech giants like Apple, Google and Facebook. 

The Trump authority reduced the U.S. corporate tax rate to 21% in a bid to encourage more U.S. multinational activity in the country. Biden has pledged to increase that to 28% while also majestic minimum taxes on U.S. companies’ foreign revenues booked overseas. 

Peter Vale, head of international tax at Grant Thornton in Dublin, guessed Biden will face some challenges in getting measures like these across the line depending on who has curb of the Senate. 

“You’re probably looking more at tweaks to the existing regime than fundamental changes but even what those tweaks potency look like is still a bit unclear,” Vale told CNBC. 

“Both (candidates) have their pre-election pawns and Biden did commit to doing a few things in terms of increasing tax rate and also increasing the tax on groups that had IP overseas.” 

He added: “I’m not certain how much of those changes he can get through without having both houses.” As it stands, the Democrats look unlikely to have a majority in the Senate. 

In the coming weeks, Biden’s transition team will also take shape ahead of his inauguration. On Sunday, the Irish Pro tems reported that former Connecticut senator and Biden advisor Chris Dodd is in the running to be appointed the next U.S. plenipotentiary to Ireland.