stage of president trump's impeachment. this is the business briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. brexit milestone. the withdrawal agreement goes before parliament, signalling the final days of britain's eu membership, and the start of intense negotiations on future trade. plus, goodbye nafta, hello usmca. the us house of representatives approves a trade deal with mexico and canada, covering $1.2 trillion worth of business per year. and on the markets, us stocks closing at new record highs, after the us treasury secretary says a trade deal with china is almost ready to sign. asian shares are holding onto their gains, around 18 month

highs, but trading is starting to thin out as we head into the holidays. we start with brexit, because today a crucial period for british and european businesses begins, as the uk takes a major step towards leaving the eu. the withdrawal agreement negotiated between borisjohnson‘s government and brussels goes before parliament, with a vote expected later. and given his large majority, it's expected to get through without many changes. under the agreement, britain is due to formally leave the eu on 31st of january next year. that will be followed by a transitional period, where existing trade terms still apply although the uk is no longer part of the eu's political institutions. this ends in december 2020.

under the original plan, if both sides agree, that transitional period could be extended by up to two years, to give more time to negotiate a long—term trading relationship. but boris johnson's government wants to rule out any extension, has added an amendment to the bill outlawing one. that sets up a high—pressure timetable for negotiators, with controversial areas such as fishing rights, consumer and environmental standards and financial services access to be agreed. the short period available for the uk to complete a trade deal with the eu is really short by the standards of other trade deals done by the eu in the past. they have generally taken years. the question is, how far does the uk wish to divert from eu rules? if it doesn't divert much that makes it easier but the more the uk wants to divert, the greater the uk wants to divert, the greater the difficulty of getting consent

within the eu for that deal and the greater the risk, even at this point, that a no—deal happens by accident. chris southworth is secretary general of the international chamber of commerce here in the uk. it's the world's largest business organisation representing some 45 million companies globally. good morning. good to see you. do you feel now, do businesses feel now, that there is a sense of certainty? because that is what they have been begging for the past three yea rs have been begging for the past three years to move on. do they have that now? there is definitely a certainty, we know that starts on the 31st of january, we also know that free trade agreement is the ultimate objective, if not then it is wto rules by the end of the year, so is wto rules by the end of the year, so there is now one yet repair for one of those options. there is a concern amongst many that given the short timeframe the uk will have to agree a lot concessions. what are businesses worried about?” agree a lot concessions. what are businesses worried about? i think what is interesting about the withdrawal bill is workers' rights

has been taken out, and up ahead are some tough choices for everybody, whether businesses, consumers, unions, we are going to have to start giving up things like standards, right, to compensate for the cost of coming out of the eu and thatis the cost of coming out of the eu and that is going to go on for quite some time. when you see that going in terms of workers right?” some time. when you see that going in terms of workers right? i think it is going to have to be a big debate, and that will be much of the public debate, isis, overthe debate, and that will be much of the public debate, isis, over the course of the next 12 month. the uk needs to bea of the next 12 month. the uk needs to be a success outside europe, needs to do whatever it takes to make it a success, and europe are wa nted make it a success, and europe are wanted much alignment as possible, so wanted much alignment as possible, so there is going to be a real tussle between how free and independent can the uk be versus what the eu want in terms of alignment. do businesses feel like they will get a say? because we know parliament is not going to get a say on any future trade deal. there is an enormous frustration in the business community that we haven't been listened to at all. what was really striking about the election

as there was no conversation around the economy, job creation enterprise or the needs of business, it was all about public service and brexit. let's ta ke about public service and brexit. let's take a positive note now, what about opportunities? there is a real opportunity now for the uk to shine asa opportunity now for the uk to shine as a global champion for responsible free trade. there is a real opportunity to remove all trade documentation for instance and digitise the uk economy, that will have an enormous positive impact on the global economy. we are hosting the global economy. we are hosting the climate negotiations so the uk has got a great opportunity to try to find a solution to carbon trading and we are hosting g7 the following year and 2021, so we are in the hot seat onto major component of the big discussions going on in the world, so we have got to get out of this paralysis of brexit and start to think about the bigger picture and what role the uk can play to help the rest of the world. the trade deal that the uk has distracted not just with the eu, it is with the whole world in particular the us and

donald trump has been very positive and making all the right noises. we have heard from emmanuel macron saying that a uk trade deal must remain loyal to eu standard. is there a disconnect, because there are very different standards that eu demands, certainly in agriculture, to that of the us that does wash it can, some of it, with chlorine which is very different. the important thing to understand here is that we have been through this before, chlorinated chicken in the nhs is enough to think any deal. what is absolute priority for the government right now is to get in place proper trade government structure, that doesn't exist at the moment. but thatis doesn't exist at the moment. but that is going to be really critical to make sure that trust into a system, there is proper consultation, those issues are headed off before you get into negotiations, there is no accusations of things going on behind closed doors, we need clear para meters behind closed doors, we need clear

parameters whether the nhs is in the deal or not in the deal, those straightforward issues need to be put into place quite quickly and then all those deals will go through faster. a lot of work to be done, really good to get your thought on that. thank you. to the us now, where the house of representatives has overwhelmingly approved a new trade agreement with mexico and canada. it will now go to the senate for approval early in the new year. the deal known as usmca will replace the 25—year old north america free trade agreement scrapped by president trump, and covers trade worth 1.2 trillion dollars a year between the three countries. when the renegotiation of nafta started it didn't seem like a deal was possible. the us wanted to be tough on trading partners, canada and mexico wanted to show they couldn't be trampled on. flash forward two years and all three countries are celebrating, but it isn't so much a reshaping of trade policy in north america, it is more a modernisation. the new deal

includes rules for digital trade and intellectual property. the amount of parts required for a car to be considered in north america has also risen. that is considered a real when auto workers. so have provisions for inspecting manufacturing plants to make sure they are following the laws. almost every union is supporting the agreement, and there is a reason for that. this is a significant improvement of the original nafta, it isa improvement of the original nafta, it is a significant improvement over the nafta that donald trump brought back to us. the agreement he brought back to us. the agreement he brought back to us was totally unenforceable. the trump administration said the agreeable and a percent of the economy, but other economists are more restrained. now let's brief you on some other business stories. andrew bailey has emerged as favourite to become the next governor of the bank of england.

his appointment could be announced in the next few hours, according to press reports. mr bailey is currently head of the city watchdog, the financial conduct authority, but has spent most of his career as an official at the bank, including as chief cashier and deputy governor. britain's car industry has called on the government to secure a tariff and barrier—free trade deal with the eu following another slump in production. car output in the uk fell 16.5%, according to the society of motor manufacturers and traders, continuing a trend of falling production over the year amid uncertainty over brexit nike says profits jumped by almost a third, 31.6%, in the three months to the end of november, on strong sales in china. growth in the us though was lower than expected. the world's top sport shoe maker is facing growing competition in its home market from the likes of adidas, vans and skechers, and has ramped up celebrity collaborations and marketing around sports events to stay ahead. and now, what's trending in the business news this morning. business insider says only 5%

of disney plus subscribers have cancelled netflix over the past two months. the research shows that for now, most consumers are treating disney's new streaming service as an extra on top, despite fears it could prove catastrophic for netflix. bloomberg reports from india on how the ‘great 0nion crisis of 2019' may be coming to an end. prices for onions, a staple for indian food, hit a record high on tuesday, because heavy rains and flooding have ruined crops. it's caused thefts and fights over onions and the prime minister has banned exports. and cnbc says amazon has a problem with fake reviews — with increasing numbers of ratings paid for by sellers. it offers advice on how to see through them. and don't forget, let is know what you are spotting online, use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. that's it for the business briefing this hour, but before we go, here are the markets. us stocks closing at new record highs, after the us

treasury secretary says a trade deal with china is almost ready to sign. that's it for the markets for now, i will be back in just a few minutes with the news briefing, stay with us. a woman who was sexually abused as a teenager by a group of men from telford has told the bbc she believes girls are still being preyed on in the area. four men were sentenced yesterday to between four—and—a—half and eight years in prison for the abuse of vulnerable young girls almost two decades ago. she spoke to our correspondent, sian lloyd. wellington near telford, an area at the centre of a child sexual exploitation scandal going back

decades stopping the extent of the abuse still isn't non—stop girls who we re abuse still isn't non—stop girls who were trafficked and sold for sex and the surrounding area and were taken further afield copy for men have now been sentenced to between four and a half years and eight years in prison for their part in the rape and indecent assault of a girl who was aged just 13 at the time. it has taken 17 years before she felt able to talk about what happened to her. my to talk about what happened to her. my life was ruled by them every day getting picked up, taken here, there, and everywhere. meeting so many men, i can't even put a number on it. it was living how. and she believes that young girls are still being abused in telford. it makes me feel sad that some girl on many girls could be out there now feeling the way i did, going through what i did. i know how it feels and i know how scared they must feel, but they must tell somebody stopping to help as there now, not like it was back

then. and independent enquiry is scrutinising both the extent of child sexual exploitation in this area and how the authorities responded. it is expected to take at least 21 months. breakfast is coming up at six o'clock with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. they'll have more on borisjohnson's brexit divorce deal — mp‘s will vote later today. stay with us for that. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: as new south wales declares a state of emergency in the face of raging bushfires, australia's prime minister has bowed to pressure to cut short his holiday. democrats and republicans are locked in a stand—off over the next stage of president trump's impeachment. celebrations are being held in macau to mark 20 years since the former colony was handed to chinese rule.

now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the front page of the guardian. it says yesterday's queen's speech points towards an extreme brexit, saying the government's brexit bill text has been altered since it won a large majority. the financial times confirms that the new bank of england governor will be andrew bailey, who had been the favourite for thejob. the irish times picks up on comments from a un official that stunningly little is being done to combat climate change, and that it would take a revolution for the world to meet the target of limiting a rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees. it is not all bad news, though. as reported here in the independent, electricity produced by renewables has surpassed fossil fuel power in the uk for the first time. and finally, can you put a price on your pet? the ft reports 43% of us millennials have gone into debt at the vet. so let's begin. with me isjoel kibazo, partner atjk associates

and a former director of communications at africa development bank. welcome back. let's start with the guardian. this headline, fears of extreme brexit in the pm's blueprint for britain. is that how you see it? will we have an extreme brexit? for britain. is that how you see it? will we have an extreme brexit7m depends on how you feel it is extreme. this story is very much about the fact that the new bill which is being introduced into parliament today has removed some clauses that were considered on things like safeguarding workers' rights and refugee children being able tojoin rights and refugee children being able to join their parents in the uk. those guarantees seem to have gone from the bill, as had been thought would happen, before the general election. so i think that is the fear. there is also the fact

that