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ABU DHABI — China and the United Arab Emirates signed a raft of economic agreements on Friday as President Xi Jinping held “extensive talks” in Abu Dhabi that will strengthen political ties, the UAE said.

Xi met UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also ruler of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the second day of a three-day visit.

“We have substantial political and economic agreement and a solid base of projects in energy and technology sectors and infrastructure,” Dubai’s ruler said in a Tweet.

“More than that, [we have] a strong political will to start a larger phase of cooperation,” he added. 

China and the UAE already agreed on oil and trade deals in the runup to Xi’s visit.

The two delegations signed more “memorandums of understanding and agreements” on Friday, UAE’s Crown Prince Mohammed said on Twitter.

This takes the total number of memoranda of understanding and deals struck this month to 13, official UAE news agency WAM said.

A strategic cooperation framework between state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) was among the deals signed on Friday, ADNOC said.

The agreement “outlines opportunities for possible future collaboration across ADNOC’s upstream and downstream value chains and support for China’s growing energy needs”, ADNOC said in a statement.

ADNOC announced on Thursday it had awarded two contracts worth $1.6 billion (1.4 billion euros) to BGP Inc., a subsidiary of CNPC, for a seismic survey in the emirate.

The survey will search for oil and gas in onshore and offshore sites covering an area of 53,000 square kilometers.

Also on Thursday, the UAE’s state-owned DP World announced an agreement between the two countries to build a new trade zone in Dubai.

The project is part of China’s trillion-dollar “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure initiative, an ambitious plan to revive the ancient Silk Road trading routes with a global network of ports, roads and railways.

In a further sign of strengthening ties, Dubai-based real estate developer Emaar Properties on Wednesday announced plans to build the Middle East’s largest Chinatown in the UAE.

Abu Dhabi is the Chinese president’s first stop on a tour which also includes Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa.

LONDON — Sterling fell below $1.30 for the first time in 10 months on Thursday as the combination of weak economic data and a resurgent dollar sapped appetite for the British currency.

Weak retail sales data for June painted a picture of a struggling economy against the backdrop of stagnating wage growth, weak inflation figures and uncertainty over how Britain’s looming exit from the European Union will play out.

That is casting a shadow on well-set expectations of an interest rate rise by the Bank of England at its August 2 meeting.

The lacklustre data comes moreover at a time when the dollar has rallied more than 6 per cent against a basket of developed G-10 nations’ currencies in the last three months. Escalating trade tensions, robust US economic growth and a confident Federal Reserve have all boosted the greenback’s appeal. 

“With fundamentals weak and a big question mark on Brexit, we think sterling can fall into the low $1.20s,” said Neil Mellor, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in London.

Britain’s June retail sales declined 0.5 per cent, defying expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase on a monthly basis. That saw sterling extending recent falls, touching an early-September 2017 low of $1.2974 and down 0.7 per cent on the day. 

That is despite the fact that on a quarterly basis, retail sales rose the most in over a decade, up 2.1 per cent on the first three months of 2018.

Many reckon this should give the BOE some confidence about raising interest rates next month — bets on a hike remain fairly entrenched, with expectations for a 25 basis point rise now at around 70 per cent.

That’s down from nearly 80 per cent earlier this week.

“The data is not that great but we still expect the Bank of England to raise rates in August in the backdrop of a tight labour market and may signal an extended pause after that,” Credit Agricole strategist Manuel Oliveri said.

The weakening economy, messy politics and the ebbing of rate hike bets beyond August have already crushed bullish sterling bets, with short bets against the British currency the biggest since September 2017.

That marks a stunning reversal from April when long sterling bets peaked at more than three-year highs. Sterling was then around $1.43, dropping almost 10 per cent since then. 

Brexit and bears 

Most of sterling’s losses have come in recent weeks as Brexit uncertainty has grown.

After narrowly escaping defeat in parliament over her plans for leaving the EU this week, Prime Minister Theresa May has signalled she will not drop a proposal on Britain’s future relationship with the bloc.

Fears linger that the country may crash out of the EU without a trade deal in place.

“Around 1.30, sterling is nowhere near to being fully priced for a worst-case political scenario, but participation in the pound is unlikely to climb much until that worst-case scenario looks a lot more certain,” said Stephen Gallo, European head of FX strategy at BMO Financial Group.

However, the British currency’s performance looks better when measured against non-dollar currencies, suggesting much of its weakness is down to the broad-based dollar surge.

Against the euro for instance, sterling is only at a four-month low of 89.30 pence.

On a year-to-date basis, sterling is a middle-of-the-pack performer against the dollar with the Swedish crown and the Canadian dollar leading losers, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Against a trade-weighted basket of its peers , for example, sterling is at a late-November 2017 low. 

However, currency derivative markets are flashing warning lights. 

Three- and one-month risk reversals , a ratio of calls to put options, are trading at their lowest since June 2017, indicating traders are betting on more weakness. 

BRUSSELS — EU regulators hit Google with a record 4.34 billion euros ($5 billion) antitrust fine on Wednesday for using its Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals.

The penalty is nearly double the previous record of 2.4 billion euros which the US tech company was ordered to pay last year over its online shopping search service.

It represents just over two weeks of revenue for Google parent Alphabet Inc. and would scarcely dent its cash reserves of $102.9 billion. But it could add to a brewing trade war between Brussels and Washington.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager denied anti-US bias, saying she very much liked the United States.

“But the fact is that this has nothing to do with how I feel. Nothing whatsoever. Just as enforcing competition law, we do it in the world, but we do not do it in political context,” she said.

Google said it would appeal the fine.

“Android has created more choice for everyone, not less. A vibrant ecosystem, rapid innovation and lower prices are classic hallmarks of robust competition,” it said. 

Vestager’s boss, commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next Wednesday in an effort to avert threatened new tariffs on EU cars amid Trump’s complaints over the US trade deficit.

Vestager also ordered Google to halt anti-competitive practices in contractual deals with smartphone makers and telecoms providers within 90 days or face additional penalties of up to 5 per cent of parent Alphabet’s average daily worldwide turnover.

“Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine. These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits. They have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important mobile sphere,” Vestager said.

The EU enforcer dismissed Google’s argument of competition from Apple, saying the iPhone maker was not a sufficient constraint because of its higher prices and switching costs for users.

Android, which runs about 80 per cent of the world’s smartphones according to market research firm Strategy Analytics, is the most important case out of a trio of antitrust cases against Google.

Some major Android device makers, including Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd. and TCL Corp., declined to comment on the EU case.

Regulatory action against tech giants like Google and Facebook with their entrenched market power may lack sting, said Polar Capital Fund Manager Ben Rogoff, who has been holding the stock since its initial public offering and is broadly neutral on Google.

“The reality is that as long as they’re delivering great utility to their consumers, consumers will still use those platforms. If they do, advertisers will be drawn to those platforms, too, because the ROIs [return on investment] are very difficult to replicate anywhere else,” he said.

The EU takedown of Google is six to eight years too late, with users paying the price, said Geoff Blaber of CCS Insight.

“Any action by the EU is akin to shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted,” he said.

“There is a significant danger of unintended consequences that penalises the consumer. This ranges from increased fragmentation and greater app inconsistency to increases in hardware cost should Google decide to change or adapt the Android business model.”

Lobbying group FairSearch, whose 2013 complaint triggered the EU investigation, welcomed the ruling, saying it could help restore competition in mobile operating systems and apps.

“This is an important step in disciplining Google’s abusive behaviour in relation to Android,” it said.

A third EU case, which has not yet concluded, involves Google’s AdSense product. Competition authorities have said Google prevented third parties using its product from displaying search advertisements from Google’s competitors.

Vestager has also ordered a series of measures against other US companies over tax practices in some EU states, notably demanding two years ago that the Irish government take back up to 13 billion euros from Apple Inc.

TOKYO — Japan and the European Union (EU) signed a wide-ranging free trade deal on Tuesday. 

Both sides hope the deal will act as a counterweight to the protectionist forces unleashed by US President Donald Trump.

The ambitious trade pact, which creates the world's largest open economic area, comes amid fears that a trade war between the United States and China will diminish the role of free trade in the global economic order.

"There are rising concerns about protectionism, but I want Japan and the EU to lead the world by bearing the flag of free trade," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a news conference after the signing ceremony.

The United States this month imposed 25 per cent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods to lower the US trade deficit and China quickly retaliated with an increase in tariffs on US goods.

The Japan-EU trade deal is also a sign of shifting global ties as Trump distances the United States from long-time allies like the EU, NATO and Canada.

"We are sending a clear message that we stand against protectionism. The EU and Japan remain open for cooperation," European Council President Donald Tusk, who speaks for the 28 EU national leaders, told reporters.

The deal removes EU tariffs of 10 per cent on Japanese cars and 3 per cent on most car parts. It would also scrap Japanese duties of some 30 per cent or more on EU cheese and 15 per cent on wines, and secure access to large public tenders in Japan.

Europe's food sector is one of the biggest winners from the deal, which should allow it to capitalise on Japanese demand for high-quality cheese, chocolates, meats and pasta.

Japanese car and car parts makers are also expected to increase their sales to Europe, where they have lagged behind European rivals.

However, Japan's dairy industry is expected to lose market share to European products once tariffs of up to 40 per cent on some cheese imports start falling.

Japan and the EU also agreed on Tuesday to establish a regular dialogue on trade and economic policy, with the first meeting to be held before year's end.

The dialogue will be chaired by Japan's trade and foreign ministers and the European Commission's vice president for competitiveness, both sides said in a joint statement.

Both Japan and the EU, having seen Trump pull back from free trade relationships, are keen to show they remain committed to removing barriers they say hamper growth, analysts said.

"Trade liberalisation and market openness continue to march ahead in Asia-Pacific," said Ajay Sharma, the regional head of global trade and receivables finance at banking and financial services provider HSBC.

EU accords with Singapore and with Vietnam were at the ratification stage, while deals with Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand were being negotiated, he added. 

A China-EU summit ended on Monday with a communique affirming the commitment of both sides to the multilateral trading system.

Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership with Japan and 10 other states on his first day in office in January 2017 and has pushed to renegotiate a free trade pact with Canada and Mexico.

Trump says he is taking a hard line on trade to protect US workers and US companies, but critics say his approach is upending the rules of multilateral global trade.

Japan and the EU account for about a third of global GDP and their trade relationship has room to grow, according to EU officials, who expect the deal to boost the EU economy by 0.8 per cent and Japan's by 0.3 per cent over the long term.

NICOSIA — More than 1.6 million tourists visited Cyprus in the six months to June, the largest number ever for the first half of the year, the island’s statistics office said on Tuesday.

Tourist arrivals in January-June rose 12.4 per cent to 1.64 million from 1.46 million in the same period last year, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

“This also outnumbers the total of arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the first six months of the year,” it said.

An influx of tourists from main market Britain and an upswing from Sweden helped Cyprus mark another record as arrivals in June broke the 500,000 barrier, Cystat said.

“June 2018 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month,” it said.

Arrivals reached 511,073 in June, an increase of 8.2 per cent from last year’s 472,450.

However, the statistical department noted a 5.1 per cent drop in the number of Russian tourists, as well as a 15.1 per cent decrease in arrivals from Israel and an 11.3 per cent decline from Germany.

Year-on-year tourist arrivals from number one market the United Kingdom rose by 9.9 per cent in June to 164,477, while there was a 20.2 per cent increase in tourists from Sweden.

Sweden has now become the island’s third largest tourist market, with Russia still holding second place.

Industry officials argue that arrivals from Russia are down due to fluctuations of the ruble and the renewed popularity of Turkey — a destination made more attractive by a weak Turkish lira.

The tourism boom has helped Cyprus return to growth following a 10-billion-euro bailout in March 2013 to rescue its crumbling economy and insolvent banks.

Income from tourism now accounts for about 15 per cent of the eastern Mediterranean island’s gross domestic product and is credited with underpinning a quick recovery.

A record 3.65 million tourists took holidays in Cyprus last year, spending an unprecedented 2.6 billion euros.

BEIJING — China could open its economy if it wished, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Monday, with the European Union calling on countries to avoid a trade war even as pressure mounts on Beijing over its industrial policies.

Playing host to Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed the need to uphold free trade and multilateralism, as the United States and China become increasingly mired in a trade dispute, with no sign of negotiations on the horizon. 

US President Donald Trump has warned he may ultimately impose tariffs on more than $500 billion worth of Chinese goods — nearly the total amount of US imports from China last year — to combat what the US says are Beijing’s trade abuses.

China has sworn to retaliate at each step.

Long accused of protectionist tactics that make it a difficult place for foreign firms, China is trying to reverse that narrative amid the escalating trade war by approving huge investments, such as a $10-billion petrochemicals project by Germany’s BASF. 

At a joint news briefing with Li and Tusk in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Juncker said that move showed “if China wishes to open up it can do so. It knows how to open up”.

Later, at a business forum, he said, “We need just and fair multilateral rules. The EU is open but it is not naive.”

At the business event, Li invited executives from European companies operating in China to share their problems.

Airbus complained about delays in government approvals that had “caused a great loss” for the company, and BMW sought its greater inclusion in the creation of industry standards.

“Let me say we will ensure the implementation of the signed contracts and we will cut the time for approval procedures,” Li told Airbus China president Eric Chen, a pool report said.

Li also asked companies to tell him of complaints they had about the “theft of intellectual property” so that he could take “great measures”. The pool report did not make clear if any companies came forward.

Tusk urged China, the United States and other countries to avoid trade wars and reform the World Trade Organisation (WTO), equipping it to combat forced technology transfers and government subsidies, complaints underpinning Trump’s tariffs.

“It is the common duty of Europe and China, but also America and Russia, not to destroy this order but to improve it, not to start trade wars, which turned into hot conflicts so often in our history, but to bravely and responsibly reform the rules based international order,” Tusk said at a meeting with Li. 

“There is still time to prevent conflict and chaos.”

Later, President Xi Jinping met the European leaders and said the two sides should “join hands to defend multilateralism and a rules-based free trade system”, Chinese state television said. 

Critics of Beijing’s policies say foreign firms compete with Chinese rivals backed by massive, market-distorting subsidies and government support, issues not sufficiently addressed under WTO rules. 

Both China and Europe have stressed the need for trade differences to be tackled through the WTO, but the United States has said China’s unfair policies are too urgent and too big for the trade body to handle. 

‘Best friends’

The China-EU meeting produced a communique affirming the commitment of both sides to the multilateral trading system. Leaders failed to find sufficient consensus for such a joint statement after meetings in 2016 and 2017.

The statement said Beijing and Brussels had submitted market access offers for the first time as part of investment treaty talks, adding that the exchange should open a “new phase” in the negotiations that both sides viewed as “a top priority”.

“The EU took note of China’s recent commitments to improving market access and the investment environment, strengthening intellectual property rights and expanding imports, and looks forward to their full implementation as well as further measures,” the statement said. 

The two sides also agreed to establish a working group on WTO reforms.

European envoys say they have sensed a greater urgency from China since last year to find like-minded countries willing to stand up against Trump’s “America First” policies. 

China’s ambassador to the EU on Sunday wrote in Chinese state media that the annual China-EU leaders’ meeting would focus on how the two sides could become a “standard of stability” amid the “din of unilateralism and protectionism”.

The EU, while sharing Trump’s concern over Chinese trade abuses if not his prescription of tariffs, has largely rebuffed efforts by China to pressure it into a strong stance against Trump.

There is deep scepticism in the EU about China’s commitment to opening its market further, besides concern that it seeks to divide the world’s largest trading bloc with its economic influence in Eastern Europe.

Nonetheless, European officials suggest that Trump, who has also targeted Europe with tariffs, has created a window of opportunity to show that EU-China relations can be a bulwark for global trade.

On the eve of his meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Trump on Sunday rattled allies once more by labelling the European Union a “foe” on trade. Tusk on Twitter called it “fake news”, saying America and the EU are “best friends”.

LONDON — Boeing Co. is concerned about the impact of possible trade tariffs on the cost of running its supply chain, but has not yet seen any impact from US-Chinese trade tensions on its business, Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said on Sunday.

“The discussion right now is proposed tariffs, ongoing discussions. So in terms of actual implementation and things that are impacting us, we haven’t seen a material impact yet,” Muilenburg told reporters.

“We are very much engaged in the discussion. We are concerned that it could affect supply chain costs. But note that supply chains are flowing in both directions between [these] countries as we both support existing fleets as well as build new airplanes.” 

Washington recently imposed 25-per cent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports, and Beijing responded with tariffs on the same amount of US exports to China.

The US administration then raised the stakes, threatening 10-per cent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, prompting China to warn it would hit back.

“Rhetoric about potential penalty actions are a concern to us,” Muilenburg said.

Speaking ahead of the Farnborough Airshow, Muilenburg, who has struck up good relations with US President Donald Trump, said both the United States and China understood the importance of aerospace to their economies.

China needs planes to boost its transport capacity and the United States relies on the sector for thousands of valuable export jobs, he said.

“Aerospace thrives on global trade, free and open trade,” Muilenburg said, adding the sector drove economic benefit globally.

Besides industry concerns about trade tariffs, and in some cases disruption from Britain’s exit from the European Union, plane makers are also on the alert for any disruption stemming from tightness in global supply chains due to record output.

“It’s on all of our radars everyday,” Muilenburg said.

Mid-market jet 

On Boeing’s plans for a potential new passenger plane, Muilenburg said the US company would not take a decision on whether to launch the potential middle-of-the-market design until 2019.

He stressed it would not let the entry to service slip beyond a target of 2025, even though it is taking the time needed to hone the business case for the novel type of jet.

“We want a 2025 airplane,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Kevin McAllister said, adding it would be more economic to run than other aircraft in its category.

Boeing is looking at developing a plane to try to stimulate new routes in a gap between its benchmark 737 single-aisle model and the smallest version of its wide-body 787 jetliner.

Analysts say the deadline is crucial because it represents the sweet spot for replacements of elderly 757 and 767 fleets.

Any sign of delay would allow European rival Airbus to argue that airlines would do better to pick an improved version of its hot-selling A321neo plane, covering many of the same missions.

Boeing executives said the market would be better served by a tailor-made aircraft with superior economics. Airbus says its A321neo already accounts for a large slice of that sector.

Flanked by many of Boeing’s top executives as the company prepares to play up innovation at the July 16-22 air show, Muilenburg said he saw a future for supersonic and hypersonic technology but that it was too early to talk about the timing.

Boeing executives highlighted the value of its investments in Britain after a trade row between Boeing and Canada’s Bombardier threatened jobs in Northern Ireland, where Prime Minister Theresa May depends on support for her majority.

Britain is said to be nearing a decision to award a new contract for early-warning planes to Boeing, prompting a backlash from Airbus and others wanting a formal competition.

AMMAN — Société Générale de Banque – Jordanie (SGBJ) has recently signed an agreement with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) to acquire its National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) Jordan business operations, according to an SGBJ statement. 

The deal has been approved by the Central Bank of Jordan, the statement said, adding that the deal covers the transfer of employees and relevant suppliers’ contracts. 

All NBAD Jordan clients, employees and branches will be transferred to SGBJ. The transaction will be completed over the coming months and until the sale is complete, NBAD Jordan will remain open for business as usual, according to the statement. 

Through the transaction, SGBJ said it seeks to accelerate its growth strategy by leveraging this business opportunity to enhance and consolidate its position in the Jordanian market, thus complementing previous growth achieved over the past five years.

SGBJ operates as a universal bank through a network of 17 branches located across different areas in Amman and other governorates. 

It offers a wide range of banking services, covering retail, corporate, SMEs, private banking, brokerage and leasing, said the statement. 

TRIPOLI — Four workers were kidnapped on Saturday from an oilfield in southern Libya, with two of them later released, Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said. 

The abductions at the Al Sharara field will hit output in the country, whose fragile economy relies heavily on its oil supplies.

"Armed men kidnapped four engineers at dawn this morning — three Libyans and a Romanian," said Ramadan Saleh, in charge of security in Libya's southern Ubari region.

Libya's NOC confirmed in a statement that four workers were kidnapped by "unknown armed assailants", but said two have been released. 

The company said it was working with "appropriate authorities to resolve the issue", without giving further details of those abducted. 

"Oil wells in the surrounding area have been shut down as a precaution, and all other workers evacuated," the NOC said.

The Al Sharara field is one of the biggest in oil-rich Libya.

Saturday's closure is expected to slash production by 160,000 bpd, according to the NOC.

The incident comes two days after the oil firm announced it would reopen another southern oilfield, Al-Fil, which has been shut since February due to a strike over salaries.

The NOC also said this week that exports would resume from terminals in eastern Libya's oil crescent, after shipments were stopped for more than two weeks due to a standoff between rival factions.

Libya produced 1.6 million bpd of oil before former leader Muammar Qadhafi was toppled from power and killed in 2011. 

Production subsequently fell but recovered to reach one million bpd by the end of 2017, but recent turmoil has shown the industry remains vulnerable to the chaos engulfing the country.

Two rival administrations continue to vie for power in Libya, while militias have often targeted workers at energy facilities.

LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May published her blueprint for relations with the European Union after Brexit on Thursday, hoping to keep close trade ties but dropping that goal for Britain's financial services industry in what the sector called "a real blow".

With less than nine months before Britain leaves the bloc, May has been under pressure to spell out her position to unblock the all-but-stalled talks with the EU that will shape Britain's biggest shift in foreign and trade policies for decades. 

In a long-awaited white paper policy document, her government said its negotiating position had "evolved". There was one major shift — abandoning plans for close ties for financial services, Britain's biggest export industry.

But in other areas, the government outlined its plans in the 98-page document to retain the closest possible ties with the bloc, including participating in its agencies for chemicals, aviation and medicines in a move aimed at pleasing business.

By pushing for close ties, the paper does little to ease the anger of Brexit supporters in May's Conservative Party. Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said: "I would like having voted to leave to leave, not to half leave." 

And it did not get a ringing endorsement from US President Donald Trump, who said in Brussels before the white paper's publication he was not sure May's approach was what Britain voted for in the 2016 referendum.

In response, May said the proposal was "delivering on the vote of the British people to take back control of our money, our laws and our borders".

Dominic Raab, appointed Brexit minister on Monday after his predecessor quit in protest at the government's approach, presented the white paper to parliament, saying: "Now, it is time for the EU to respond in kind."

"We approach these negotiations with a spirit of pragmatism, compromise and, indeed, friendship, I hope, I trust that the EU will engage with our proposals in the same spirit," he said to jeers from lawmakers who were not given the document.

The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said he would analyse the paper with member states and the European Parliament, and repeated the bloc's offer for an ambitious free trade agreement with "effective cooperation" on issues.

Time pressure

May was forced to put her cards on the table after repeated warnings from businesses and EU officials that she was running out of time to prevent Britain from crashing out of the bloc without a deal in a chaotic Brexit.

She thrashed out an agreement at her Chequers country residence on Friday, but that was undermined when two of her leading ministers quit in protest at her plan to keep close trade ties.

Her team had hoped the publication of the white paper would ease concerns among many Brexit supporters after the resignations of former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and former Brexit negotiator David Davis. But it seemed to have done little to calm a simmering rebellion in her Conservative Party.

Some Brexit campaigners will seek to harden her plan by changing her customs legislation in parliament next week.

The white paper confirms May's desire for a "business-friendly" Brexit, trying to protect manufacturers with complex supply chains across the EU, which have warned a clean break would have cost British jobs.

But the government has abandoned a plan for close ties with the EU for financial services, instead saying it would push to improve the EU's current legal mechanism for access to the bloc's financial markets known as "equivalence" — when the EU deems a country's rules to be as robust as its standards.

The head of policy at the City of London, Catherine McGuinness, described the white paper as a "real blow".

But while industry bodies decried the government's decision, many banks and insurers had already scaled back their expectations of continued full access to the EU market after Brexit, and started opening new hubs in continental Europe.

The white paper acknowledges there will be more barriers to Britain's access to the EU market than is the case today, but it has prioritised maintaining trade ties for goods and details a plan for a facilitated customs arrangement with the EU.

It also spells out Britain's desire to participate in EU agencies that provide authorisation for goods — the European Chemicals Agency, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the European Medicines Agency. Britain would accept their rules and contribute to their costs, the white paper said.

While ending freedom of movement of people, Britain will try to ensure tourists can travel freely around Europe and will try to make its immigration policy better cater for business needs.

It also proposes new bodies to help interpret rules and regulations and to resolve disputes, but says Britain will still pay due regard to the European Court of Justice.

With the detail now published, May hopes to speed up the talks with the EU before Britain leaves in March next year.

"What we've heard so far from other leaders and from Brussels is actually a positive response that this is a proposal that we can sit down and start increasing the pace of the negotiations," May said.

"At every stage through these negotiations people have cast doubt as to whether we are going to achieve what we want to achieve, and at every stage we have done so."