Re: Last Gasp Attempt !
Hi
When we leave it will of course take years to negotiate new deals, that is the nature of the game.
It is a myth, spread by the Brexiteers, that Trade Deals only take a long time to negotiate because the EU are involved.
They take years even when the EU are not involved at all, look at some of the Asian ones.
Our biggest exports are services, we actually manufacture very little.
What manufacturing we have is predominately foreign owned and many of these are based in the UK becuse that gives them access to the Single Market.
We cannot insist they stay here after Brexit, they will make a decision purely on profit.
To rebalance our economy away from services as Moscow suggested will take years, to increase our manufacturing exports we need to become competitive on price.
We simply cannot compete on price at the moment with the new Asian Economies.
South Korean shipbuilding, Japanese Cars, Taiwanese electronics etc etc.
My new Spear and Jackson lawnmower was made in China for example.
We cannot change things quickly.
We have ruled out many things and painted ourselves into a corner with our Red Lines.
We are not having a Norway or Swiss Type deal, which works well for both those Countries.
I have absolutely no answer as to how to square the circle, the solution is well above my level of intelligence.
We are heading, inexorably towards a Hard Brexit, straight to WTO Rules.
In doing so we are not just cutting ourselves off from the EU, we will no longer have Trade Deals with the 40 or so non EU Countries we have now and will lose out on the massive new ones the EU has negotiated with Japan and South Korea.
A Trade Deal with Australia will not replace these, it has an Economy about the size of Spain.
I would have been very happy yo leave the EU and rejoin the EEA or have a Swiss type set up.
These have been ruled out by Government.
Over 17 million people voted to leave, the method of our leaving is being determined by 10 DUP and 30 Conservative MPs.