Brexit questions, 3: How many trade deals has the UK signed in the last ten years? How long did each take to conclude, on average?
None, trade deals were an EU exclusive competence.
Jeez, this man……
Brexit questions, 5: What value of tariffs do we collect now on imports to the UK? Which countries give rise to the top 10 payments? Are we planning new trade deals with any of them? What will the impact on revenue be?
Tariffs are sent to Brussels. They come off the other amounts we must also send there.
Brexit questions, 11: How much will the cost to business be of having to manage multiple trade deals and tariff arrangements?
Not a lot. Large exporters already send to 50, 90 different jurisdictions. We’re adding one more, the EU.
International political economy my arse.
Reminds me of the Chinese expression that one fool can ask more stupid questions in an hour that the emperors wisemen can answer in a year.
General questions, 1: why does he bother?
It seems to me that the people who whine most about Brexit think that the world consists solely of the EU. It does not seem to occur to them that trade between the UK and non – EU countries has been going on ever since trade began. The question they should be asking is given that we already import goods and services from, say, India and export to them also, why do we need a trade agreement?
> 5: What value of tariffs …
*sigh* Any tariffs which exist or might exist are dwarfed by the drop in Sterling since the Brexit vote. Non-tariff barriers are more important.
It seems to me that the people who whine most about Brexit are the people who have the flimsiest knowledge of the EU, its institutions and competencies.
I wonder if he thinks that Scotland has negotiated any independent trade deals in the last 10 years too…
But really, this stuff is basic.
One point that occurs to me recently is this whole question of referendums. These are, and should be simple, usually binary, questions, viz:
Should the UK remain a member of the EU?
Yes
No
Should Scotland be an independent country?
Yes
No
My understanding of the Remainiacs like that repulsive little cvnt Farron and some of those Labour fvcks is that in essence they want a new referendum at the end of the exit process with a question something like the following:
Should the UK leave the EU based on the proposals put forward (in the 100,000 pages of detailed rules proposed by the UK government and provisionally agreed to by the other EU member states on immigration, trade, regulations, contributions, capital, social security and health, defence, etc etc.)
Yes
No
That is not the sort of question that lends itself to a referendum where a majority of the population would be hard pressed to pin a tail on a picture of a donkey if asked, even with their eyes open.
The official figures are easy to find – £3089 million for 2015-16. The question about which countries is seriously wide of the mark, isn’t it? I thought the importer pays the duty direct to HMRC. In any case, there are freely available stats for imports on a country-by-country basis – I just can’t be arsed to track them down. I don’t know why the Prof doesn’t have them at the end of his pumping fists.
I love this one:
This backs up my previous assertion that these fools are unaware of the world outside Europe. If he actually worked at a university, I suspect he would find that there are many US, Chinese, Japanese and Indian students there, probably outnumbering the EU ones. If they were able to get to a UK university, perhaps a European could also get there?
Bootiful.
Rob said:
“General questions, 1: why does he bother?”
Because he gets paid for this crap.
(and, secondarily, it helps his monstrous ego by making him feel important)
I think he is pissed off that Botzarelli was able to give reasonable answers so easily
The problem isn’t so much tarifs as non-tarif barriers and detailed technical issues such as customs cooperation and information transfer, as well as regulatory issues depending n the class of goods.
He defends the ‘we haven’t done a trade deal in 10 years’ question on the grounds that it shows the country has no experience and couldn’t cope.
Had the US in 1776, Australia in 1901 and Ireland in 1916 (or whenever it was) or Israel in 1948 been asked about their prior experience as an independent nation, they would also have said ‘no’. Would this have been an obstacle to independence? Somehow these countries adapted and worked it out!
Perhaps the Fat Professor should gi ve us his view on what should be included in a trade deal. That ought to raise a lot of laughs.
Adrian said:
“He defends the ‘we haven’t done a trade deal in 10 years’ question on the grounds that it shows the country has no experience and couldn’t cope.”
Also how many of the EU trade negotiating team are Brits who will be looking for new jobs post-Brexit?
(not that we’d necessarily want them, but just because HM’s Government hasn’t negotiated trade deals recently doesn’t mean that we can’t get experience)
Slightly OT: Der Spiegel reports that Wolfgang Schäuble is mad about Great Britain’s desire to have the lowest tax rate of the G20. “But when a large country believes that it can have the advantages of a small country [referring to Bermuda, Caymans, etc.], that won’t work.” And “the rest of the world will not allow it.”
Why is it that when a German politician speaks one always hears the sound of jackboots?
New things happen all the time, we’re still here.
Besides, how many trade deals has the EU negotiated in the last 10 years?
Dear Non-Eu Country,
We are currently trading with you as a member of the EU. Soon we will not be part of the EU. Would you like to:
1) Carry on with the same terms
2) Talk about some changes
3) Carry on for now, but with a view to making changes once agreed.
Love Britain
Dear France,
Would you like us to get our cheese and wine from you or someone else?
If from you, can we have 5 mins of your time to sign-off on a trade deal? Same as, we were thinking.
Cheers, Britain
Jack C
France has no authority to respond to your letter of 7.32..:)
General questions, 1: why does he bother?
Obsession.
So the fifth (or sixth?) largest economy in the world cannot negotiate a trade deal.
I’m not sure if he is cynical or he really does believe Britain is as useless as this.
Good of John Whiting from the Office of Tax Simplification (https://www.gov.uk/government/people/john-whiting–2) to pop up now and again on TRUK. Come on own up, whoever it is.
Brexit questions, 11: How much will the cost to business be of having to manage multiple trade deals and tariff arrangements?
He really doesn’t get it.
There’s no *having* to do this. The cost to the UK could be 0 – simply open the borders to free-trade. That’s it. Don’t worry about reciprocity, its irrelevant. You’ll get richer even if the other guy closes his borders to UK imports.
If the UK government *chooses* to impose these barriers on its citizens, then that’s a choice it freely made, but there is no ‘have to’ here.
Hedgehog: “Why is it that when a German politician speaks one always hears the sound of jackboots?”
Well, Schäuble wearing jackboots would be a bit redundant. Maybe he could outfit his wheelchair with tank tracks? Either way he can go get fucked.
PF:
“France has no authority to respond to your letter of 7.32..:)”
In theory, you’re absolutely right. In practice, we all know what would actually happen.
For safety’s sake, just add in Germany on a similar basis.
Weren’t any of our civil servants working in Brussels on the EU trade deals? If not someone needs shooting.
I’ve no doubt there’s a number of Brits employed directly by the EU who worked on those deals who would love the opportunity to come back and work on some more in a senior position.
“There’s no *having* to do this. The cost to the UK could be 0 – simply open the borders to free-trade. ”
Indeed, all we need to say is: “As long, you, your goods and services obey our laws and regulations, in you come”.
A thought on this idea that at the end of the negotiation with the EU we should have a referendum.
AIUI, once we’ve triggered A50 we’re on our way out and it’s only the terms that have to be agreed. And even if we agree terms and hold a referendum, or Parliament rejects them, we can’t just turn round and say sorry, on second thoughts we’re staying.
And if we could change our minds and stay in, the EU will make our lives shit for wasting 2 years of their time, assuming they’d even take our negotiations seriously knowing we could change our minds on a whim.
Or have I missed something?
The Meissen Bison
Absolutely agree but worth emphasising his ignorance extends well beyond the EU and indeed he (despite stiff competition from various Guarduan alumni) is without question the most wilfully ignorant commentator extant in Cyberspace today…
The funniest question for me is 4/ ‘How many pieces of legislation will be impacted by the ‘Great repeal bill’ I’ve met 13 year olds with enough knowledge to point out the stupidity of such a question as regards the EU. He is a moron and one hopes he will no longer be consulted by anyone outside the ultra Left press forthwith….
Jack C – if I want French cheese and wine I’ll buy French cheese and wine – regardless of who I buy it from its going to be French cheese and wine.
There really isn’t another supplier for the particular goods. There are many copies, many fine wines and cheeses elsewhere. They are not however the same wine.
Martin, more to the point, are economies on their uppers, such as Spain and Portugal, going to stop selling their wine and produce to us on the same basis as before?
Murphy’s list of questions is a bit odd when you think about it. I mean, if we charitably allow that he actually is a university lecturer, shouldn’t he know this stuff, or at least where to look it up? These aren’t abstruse, yet-to-be-determined things. It’s a bit like a physics lecturer writing plaintively on his blog: “materials science question: what’s the Young’s modulus of copper?”
Brexit questions, 11: How much will the cost to business be of having to manage multiple trade deals and tariff arrangements?
Brexit questions, #112: How much does the cost of ludicrous EU regulations cost British business now?
Funny how no-one ever asks that, only about future hypothetical tariffs.
Also, British businesses won’t be “managing multiple trade deals”, unless HM Gov are planning a fairly radical devolution plan within the next couple of years.
What a chump.
Brexit questions, #112: How much does the cost of ludicrous EU regulations cost British business now?
You don’t understand, having Brussels dictate your trade policy to you is good. That way you don’t need experienced negotiators. And that means you can never leave, because you don’t have experienced negotiators. Which you can only get by leaving, which you can’t. So says the sage, in defiance of reality.
What will the impact on revenue be?
The only question he actually cares about. Oh no, instead of the EU setting up our trade barriers, we’ll have to defend them ourselves!
It doesn’t seem to occur to him that maybe you could just not have them. And have the benefits flow to the people instead of the state.