British-French Fishing Dispute

Britain told France on Monday that it must back down within 48 hours in a fishing row that threatens to spiral into a wider trade dispute or face legal action under the Brexit trade deal. France says Britain has refused to grant its fishermen the correct number of licenses to operate in British waters and has said it could impose targeted measures, including tightening checks on trucks moving between the neighbors. Britain says it is issuing licenses to vessels that can prove they have previously fished in U.K. waters. The row intensified last week when the French seized a British dredger in French waters near Le Havre, saying it did not have the required licenses. The U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that “the French have made completely unreasonable threats, including to the Channel Islands and to our fishing industry, and they need to withdraw those threats or else we will use the mechanisms of our trade agreement with the EU.” In response, Paris has said it could ban British fishing boats from unloading in French ports, carry out additional license checks on British vessels, tighten controls of trucks and reinforce customs controls if talks fail. The fishing issue has dogged Brexit talks for years, not because of its economic importance but because of its political significance. If not resolved, it could trigger the beginning of dispute measures in the Brexit trade deal as early as this week.