It's quite a shame that UKIP can't actually take outright power

[FatLazyContractor]

+1

Those car factories will relocate to Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and possibly even Greece where there is high unemployment and therefore cheap labour to be had.

Which are all still sadly "Europe" !

[BlasterBates]

The Germans will not want to start a trade war with the UK

You're right, but what about the other 24 member states, quite a few of whom export virtually nothing to the UK.

The EU doesn't have an all powerful president with whom you can do a deal, a deal will take years of tortuous negotiation with Southern European countries who import from the UK but don't export, blocking and dragging their heels, and generally waiting for the manufacturing companies to decamp and setup in their own country.

By the time the deal is on the table, the car companies will already be entrenched in Bulgaria.

[DodgyAgent]

They'd be wise not to. Unless they wanted to "make an example" of the UK to stop other member states leaving?

Do you really think german exporters would tolerate such petty behaviour?

[Euler]

I take it you guys have noticed that we do more business with the rest of the world than we do with the EU by some considerable margin. And that business is not all about making things...

Eh? I found these ONS statistics (admittedly from 2 years ago but I doubt its changed that drastically) that suggest otherwise?

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/itis/i...-services.html

[BlasterBates]

Do you really think german exporters would tolerate such petty behaviour?

The EU isn't run by German exporters, it's run by 25 states all with different agendas and all with a veto.

Just take a look now at how Greece is sticking two fingers up to the German exporters.

[TheFaQQer]

Do you really think german exporters would tolerate such petty behaviour?

Germany exports more to the mighty industrial powerhouse of Gabon (and Trindidad, Syria, Congo, Armenia, Namibia...) than they do to the UK.

I think they'd get over it.

[DodgyAgent]

You're right, but what about the other 24 member states, quite a few of whom export virtually nothing to the UK.

The EU doesn't have an all powerful president with whom you can do a deal, a deal will take years of tortuous negotiation with Southern European countries who import from the UK but don't export, blocking and dragging their heels, and generally waiting for the manufacturing companies to decamp and setup in their own country.

By the time the deal is on the table, the car companies will already be entrenched in Bulgaria.

This is not a matter where one party can sulk and punish another by not talking to them or taking their toys away.

Why would the EU do nothing other than make it easy for the UK and the EU to continue to trade with each other?

[Euler]

Germany exports more to the mighty industrial powerhouse of Gabon (and Trindidad, Syria, Congo, Armenia, Namibia...) than they do to the UK.

I think they'd get over it.

Bollux. Where's your evdience?
Not that's its germane to our argument, but still that's unbelievable.

[Euler]

Why would the EU do nothing other than make it easy for the UK and the EU to continue to trade with each other?

They would but business is not about being nice, its about gaining advantage. The EU is a larger market than the UK, even is its current sorry state, so they could call the shots.

[DodgyAgent]

The EU isn't run by German exporters, it's run by 25 states all with different agendas and all with a veto.

Just take a look now at how Greece is sticking two fingers up to the German exporters.

Greece is a much smaller country than the UK and they are getting away with not paying their debts, ignoring demands to reform the country and negotiating with Russia. If the EU decided to pick a fight with the UK it would cause turmoil to the Union and break it up.

It is fascinating how some of you think that sulking and punishing are going to work when the whole EU and its economy is on a knife edge!