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U.K.-E.U. Trade Deal Reached on Night Before Christmas; Trump Facing Fierce Criticism after Latest Round of Pardons; U.S. Air Travel Hits Pandemic Record Amid Soaring COVID Cases. Aired 3-3:30p ET
Aired December 24, 2020 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:13]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS HOST: Trading is over on Wall Street. The Dow has moved back towards a record on the markets. Oh, it was about -- look at
that real choppy day. A short day of trading. But that's the way things are looking and the day as it happened.
The clock is no longer ticking. The E.U. and the U.K. agree on a historic trade deal. Britain finally Brexits.
Pardons in the evening, golf in the afternoon. Donald Trump sparks anger as he decamped to Florida leaving many Americans without.
And as much as the world locks down for Christmas, American passengers are flying at record numbers.
We are live in New York. It is Thursday, Christmas Eve, December the 24th. I'm Richard Quest and I mean Christmas.
Good evening. Now given that it is Christmas Eve, and as you can see NORAD is tracking Santa and Santa is about to fly over continental Europe.
Forgive me as I begin this evening's program in a suitably seasonal style, something that will resonate for the season.
It was the night before Christmas and from Calais to Dover, the word on the street is that Brexit was over. A trade deal is being reached between
London and Brussels, thus ending the tale of this longest of struggles.
The deal came together, Boris Johnson's one wish, all the kinks seem resolved. Yes, even the Irish and fish.
It still needs approval from all groups involved. Once it does get through Parliament, hard Brexit is sold.
For Europe, there is sadness, but no time for crying. So said the President Ursula von der Leyen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: So to only Europeans, I say, it is time to leave Brexit behind. Our future is made in Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now dash away, dash away, dash away all. Nic Robertson reports from of course, Whitehall.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, it seemed very relieved Boris Johnson when he took to the podium to announce that the free
trade deal with the European Union had been done. A jumbo Canada style Free Trade Agreement is how he called it.
He said that Britain had done and the politicians had done what they promised to do when the referendum took place in 2016, and that was deliver
on taking back control.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We've taken back control of our laws and our destiny. We've taken back control of every jot and tittle of
regulation in a way that is complete and unfettered.
From January the first, we are outside the Customs Union, and outside the single market. British laws will be made solely by the British Parliament,
interpreted by U.K. judges sitting in U.K. courts, and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice will come to an end.
ROBERTSON: Well, the Prime Minister also accented that with that taking back control and having access to the European single market without
quotas, without tariffs, or for the most part would still come with the potential of penalties, both sides being able to, after arbitration take
action, punitive perhaps on tariffs, quotas, with the other side.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President spelling that out for how it might work over fisheries. She said there was now predictability
for E.U. fishermen for the next five and a half years as part of the fishing deal, but she said that there will be strong incentives for the
U.K. to make sure that it conformed to the agreement in the future.
But for her part, she talked about this as being a moment also tinged with some sadness.
VON DER LEYEN: And ladies and gentlemen, at the end of a successful negotiations journey, I normally feel joy. But today, I only feel quite
satisfaction and frankly speaking, relief.
I know this is a difficult day for some and to our friends in the United Kingdom, I want to say, parting is such sweet sorrow, but to use the line
from T.S. Eliot, what we call the beginning is often the end and to make an end is to make a beginning.
So to all Europeans I say, it is time to leave Brexit behind. Our future is made in Europe.
ROBERTSON: So the deal will go to the European Parliament for ratification. Boris Johnson saying that it will go to the British Parliament on the 30th
of December where it's expected to pass big changes he said for the British people to come into force January the first.
Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: The E.C.B. President has already hailed the deal, Christine Lagarde said it was important given the high uncertainty in the global economy.
"Thank you to the negotiating team," she says, " ... for trying hard for a deal until the last hour."
And the French President Emmanuel Macron says, "European unity and firmness have paid off. Europe moves forward and could look to the future united,
sovereign and strong."
The E.U. says there will be big changes under this deal once the U.K. is no longer a member state. If you take a look, yes, there will no longer be --
there will be zero tariffs and quotas and visa free travel for up to 30 days. There will be border checks, and the end of frictionless trade.
Roaming charges will be back. Passports for financial services will be gone, and so will pet passports. The right to work, study or live in the
E.U. becomes much more difficult and complicated for Brits and vice versa for E.U. citizens.
The British Chambers of Commerce says it is relieved by the deal. Its Director General, Adam Marshall is with me now.
Adam, the deal is done. There's no point in looking back at what might have been, could have been and should have been. Can your members thrive and do
business on these terms?
ADAM MARSHALL, DIRECTOR, BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE: Well, of course with certainty and stability, businesses can thrive and do well and trade well
under pretty much any circumstances.
But it is good that the U.K. and the E.U. reverted a no deal outcome on New Year's Day that would have been incredibly difficult for so many
businesses, not just here in the United Kingdom, but in many countries across Europe as well.
QUEST: There's some weird things. I mean, the E.U. has made a big point about roaming charges will be back. There's absolutely no reason why
companies can't agree here and now on many aspects like roaming charges that the E.U. and U.K. have the same tariffs.
MARSHALL: Well, there will inevitably be some posturing by both sides regarding this deal. What businesses really are interested in is the facts,
it is the practicalities of it, we need to see the many hundreds of pages that make up this treaty between the two parties and understand the detail
so that we can start to adjust both our expectations and for any costs that may come in.
Of course, we've got to do that in record time. We've only got a week until this new set of arrangements comes into force and that's a gargantuan ask
of business communities on both sides of the channel.
QUEST: Right. There will be various easing measures and procedural understandings and things that might help smooth that. I do wonder, for
you, what is the next thing? Because it won't be long before the U.K. and E.U. start negotiating again on other areas, for example, financial
services, or just simply the services sector.
Are you confident that there could be a successful negotiation on services given more time?
MARSHALL: Well, I am certainly more hopeful than I would have been if there had been an acrimonious ending to the negotiations process. What we have
now is a foundation for future U.K.-E.U. trade. I very much hope it is a foundation that the two sides choose to build on in the years ahead in
order to bring some additional facilitation, some additional support for business communities who wants to do more trade between the two areas.
I think we will see some success in that respect. I'm hopeful that we'll see a decision on equivalence by the European authorities, a swift decision
on data as well so that data can be moved between the U.K. and the E.U. and vice versa with a minimum of difficulties.
A lot of these negotiations as you say still do lie ahead. Brexit isn't over simply because we have this deal. There will be a lot of conversations
ahead of us still.
QUEST: And finally, the chaos that we've seen as a result of COVID at the port, can you be reasonably confident that we won't see chaos, we might see
longer lines, but that we won't see Customs facilitation chaos?
[15:10:12]
MARSHALL: Well, I am concerned that there could be disruption in the early weeks and months as businesses and logistics companies and hauliers get
used to new paperwork and new requirements. Inevitably, that could result in some port congestion and port delays.
But there's a big difference between the closure, the total closure that we've seen over the past few days due to the coronavirus crisis and just
slower working than we've been used to at places like Dover and Calais, for example. There's a big difference between those two.
My hope is that as many businesses as possible are able to prepare for the new requirements and that the authorities on both sides, importantly on the
E.U. side as well ease into those new requirements and help simplify things for businesses in the early months so that they can continue to trade
successfully.
QUEST: Adam, I wish you -- thank you for talking to us on Christmas Eve. It's getting late in the U.K., but thank you, sir. I appreciate it for
talking to us now.
MARSHALL: My pleasure.
QUEST: Stocks were pretty flat. London and Paris were the only major European bosses that were open and they were both closed by the -- look at
that. Who says there can't be some form of unanimity? One goes up, one goes down but by the same amount in opposite directions. There you have it.
More parting gifts from President Trump in the final weeks of his presidency. We're in Washington with details of more than two dozen new
pardons, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now even one Republican Senator has agreed it is rotten to the core. President Trump has gifted 26 people with pardons, many of them his
political allies, his colleagues, even distant family members.
The latest list includes his former 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort, longtime loyalist Roger Stone.
Joe Johns is in West Palm Beach in Florida where President Trump has been golfing today. We're going to do -- we're going to deal with the stimulus
as well, Joe, as we're talking, but I do want to just talk first, these pardons, they are getting pretty egregious by general consent. I'm just
wondering how much further do you expect them to go?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Anyone's guess, and as you know, the President has gone pretty far with these pardons, something like
65 by some count, and there is a Harvard University Professor who was quoted just now in "The New York Times," saying out of those 65 pardons,
about 60 of them, in fact, have some association with the President.
So it can continue along the same lines and as you understand, there's a certain circularity to it that has raised a lot of questions here in the
United States, especially because the President at first sort of dangled the idea of these pardons out there, get out of jail free card.
And then certain individuals who were being pursued in the Russia investigation, decided not to talk to the team of Robert Mueller, who was
the special counsel, and now it goes full circle to where we have pardons for some of those people who did not talk.
[15:15:38]
JOHNS: Obviously, we don't know if there was an agreement, but it certainly raises some questions -- Richard.
QUEST: Before leaving Washington, the President refused to sign the $900 billion stimulus bill. Key programs are set to expire at the moment,
unemployment benefit, for example, is one of them. There is the threat of the shutdown that's going to happen.
You've got Federal programs that are likely to expand and of course, the moratorium on evictions comes to an end on New Year's Eve. It's galling to
some to be suffering so and seeing the President leave town, go to Florida and go golfing?
JOHNS: That's absolutely right, and it's very obvious that there's a problem even to the extent that the White House Press Office, on the
President's schedule, put out that he would be having meetings and telephone calls.
But the fact of the matter is that the President of the United States, who sort of created all of this by coming at the late hour with changes, with
revisions that he wants to bills that have already been negotiated on Capitol Hill, and now he is down here in South Florida, instead of up in
Washington, negotiating with Members of Congress to get the country out of the mess it's in.
The question, of course, is whether he is going to once again as is his pattern, turn around and fix or help fix the problem that he created, and
you know, it's pretty late in the calendar because there could be a government shutdown if they if they don't get to some type of agreement --
Richard.
QUEST: Joe, thank you down in South Florida and will be there, of course, working over Christmas. I am wishing you well as you do so.
Investors on Wall Street mostly shrugged off the delay in the stimulus package and focus on the good news about a Brexit trade deal.
The Dow inched literally up 70 points in a shortened holiday session on Christmas Eve, and that's why you see that long line at the end. That's the
early closing of the market.
Much of the world is locked down during Christmas Holidays. Americans have set a new record for travel during the pandemic, almost 1.2 million
passengers flew on Wednesday. That's stoking fears the nation could see another surge just as it did after Thanksgiving.
Amara Walker has more from the world's busiest airport, Atlanta Hartsfield.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here at Atlanta International Airport, it has been a relatively busy on this Christmas Eve day, although not nearly
as crowded as it would be during a normal holiday travel season without a pandemic going on.
In fact, airport officials say that they expect half the number of travelers to pass through here this season compared to the same time last
year. But there is reason to be concerned and that's because the T.S.A. is reporting record breaking pandemic travel.
If you just look at the last six days starting on Friday through Wednesday, more than six million passengers were screened by the T.S.A., an average of
about a million passengers passing through airports throughout the nation.
Also on Wednesday, 1.2 million passengers were screened by the T.S.A., that is the highest number we have seen since this pandemic began. I spoke with
a handful of travelers, many telling me that they understand the risks of traveling and gathering for the Christmas holiday season.
I spoke with one man who missed his flight to Philadelphia to go see his mother and grandmother and he jokingly said to me, maybe it was a sign from
God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe. Maybe. Hey, I don't -- you know, whatever happens is meant to happen.
I did get tested ahead of time so I felt a little more secure. But, I've only traveled once this year and it's the holidays so it's a really
important time of the year.
WALKER: Atlanta airport officials say they expect the busiest travel day to be on Sunday after Christmas, where they anticipate seeing 156,000
passengers passing through.
I'm Amara Walker at Atlanta International Airport. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And still ahead. Okay, Santa is making his journey around the world at the moment. There he goes. He's wearing a mask, suitably socially
distanced as indeed all the reindeers this year as well, but exactly where he is, we will find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command has a tradition of tracking Santa on Christmas Eve from the moment he starts out towards in
the South Pacific of New Zealand.
Right now, there you go, tracking Santa's progress. His reindeers are flying over Central Africa and has already delivered more than three --
that must be three billion gifts. And don't worry, if we would zoom in, you will see he is wearing a mask this year. He is protecting himself and
others.
And the obvious question that we ask every year, how is Sandra able to visit homes around the world in the era of social distancing?
A clever viewer has raised an issue on CNN's Sesame Street Town Hall over the weekend. How does Santa do it with a mask? He got a personal assurance
from the top U.S. infectious disease expert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Will Santa still be able to visit me in coronavirus this season. What if he can go to anyone's house or near his reindeer?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Well, I have to say I took care of that for you because I was
worried that you'd all be upset. So what I hit a little while ago, I took a trip up there to the North Pole. I went there and I vaccinated Santa Claus
myself.
I measured his level of immunity and he is good to go. He can come down the chimney. He can leave the presents. He can leave and you have nothing to
worry about. Santa Claus is good to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: As indeed is that man Dr. Anthony Fauci who is 80 today. Eighty. He says he's not going to retire as yet, he will at some point. So he
vaccinated Santa, and that's good news first of all, because these Christmas presents have to be wrapped in something.
So how do we wrap everything up? Eco Solutions. That's how we do it. Selina Wang looks at how one Japanese company is making paper for wrapping
presents amongst other things more sustainable.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At Shizen, on the western coast of Japan's main island, a town of some 20,000 residents and Japan's
traditional paper making capital.
According to local legends, the craft of making traditional Japanese paper or washi began here over 1,500 years ago.
Today artisans still make washi by hand, including Masami Igarashi.
MASAMI IGARASHI, WASHI ARTISAN, IGARASHI PAPER MILL (through translator): I started making paper when I was 22 and I've been a paper artisan for 25
years.
WANG (voice over): But today, the craft is under threat. Washi, like most paper is made from pulp derived from tree fibers. In this case, the
mulberry tree and recently, they are in short supply.
Modern innovations in paper making mean fewer farmers are growing mulberry trees. That's led Igarashi and her son, 14-year-old, Yuto to look for new
sources of fiber for the washi in the kitchen.
[15:25:15]
YUTO IGARASHI, SON OF MASAMI IGARASHI (through translator): Initially, I wondered how paper can be made from food and how to experiment.
M. IGARASHI (through translator): The way food paper is created is a little different from the conventional way of making paper, but it's made by just
adding food waste from fruits and vegetables, to usually ingredients like kozo fibers, pouring that into a vat and shaking the vat thoroughly.
WANG (voice over): Igarashi uses onion skins, carrot peels anything in season, and there's no shortage of supply.
In Japan, millions of tons of produce end up in the trash every year.
M. IGARASHI (through translator): In the future, I hope this food paper makes people both here in Japan and globally realize the importance of
paying attention to the environment.
WANG (voice over): In spring 2020, she launched a line of biodegradable stationery products in collaboration with designer, Naohiro Niiyama.
NAOHIRO NIIYAMA, DESIGN DIRECTOR, TSUGI DESIGN (through translator): The awareness of food loss and disposal of food in Japan has been changing
little by little. But this is just the beginning.
WANG (voice over): And for Igarashi, hopefully a new beginning for her age old craft.
Selena Wang, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Finally tonight, tonight's profitable moment. I've covered Brexit from the moment the referendum was announced through the campaign to the
vote. And of course, the tortuous negotiations across the three Prime Ministers.
The Brexit we've ended up with tonight is a harder Brexit than many have wanted. Softened, of course, by the mattress of this free trade deal.
But to me, the issue now becomes how the U.K. takes advantage of its newfound freedoms. Until now, well, the U.K. really needs to get a trade
deal with the United States. It's a deal that Joe Biden can offer now that they have solved, of course, the issue of Northern Ireland and the Irish
protocol.
But there's more. The U.K. needs to discover a new spirit of enterprise and whilst it shouldn't become Singapore on steroids, it does need to realize
it is in a cold world without the warmth and support of it much larger neighbor, the E.U.
It's all eminently doable and it is useless to argue about the vote and the result. It's done, it's over. Perhaps the best way to view this is as the
British Prime Minister said, realize the immensity of the moment and be prepared to make the most.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight and for Christmas. I'm Richard Quest.
Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I do hope it's festive. See you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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