Britain's trade options after Brexit - no easy way out

[sasguru]

Why does that make the figures tulip?

[bobspud]

Britain's trade options after Brexit - no easy way out | Reuters



Ouch.



Double ouch.



Triple ouch.


Lets face it, the whole Brexit thing is a complete waste of time. This is a power struggle with us caught up in the middle. There can be only one winner. No one remembers a loser.

But when a high proportion of that 8% are Luxury goods like Champagne, fashion and Cars the EU will sober up pretty fast once it starts talking trade tariffs...

Stand over the M4 and count the numbers of, Skoda,VW,Audi,BMW,Mercedes cars that make up the daily commute... then add the french and Italian brands on top. Thats an awful lot of lost forward revenues that EU manufacturers are letting their politicians use as ammunition...

In contrast the UK is a service and specialist economy it's not so easy to just say **** it Im not using an English designed actuator on my oil rig or gas pipe I will get someone else to have a go at designing it for me... (BOOM) thats not going to float.

[Old Greg]

It's not nice to laugh.

[sasguru]

But when a high proportion of that 8% are Luxury goods like Champagne, fashion and Cars the EU will sober up pretty fast once it starts talking trade tariffs...

Stand over the M4 and count the numbers of, Skoda,VW,Audi,BMW,Mercedes cars that make up the daily commute... then add the french and Italian brands on top. Thats an awful lot of lost forward revenues that EU manufacturers are letting their politicians use as ammunition...

In contrast the UK is a service and specialist economy it's not so easy to just say **** it Im not using an English designed actuator on my oil rig or gas pipe I will get someone else to have a go at designing it for me... (BOOM) thats not going to float.

Luxury goods are not price sensitive, by definition.
If I was a lobbyist for the German motor industry I would insist on tariffs, knowing that people would still buy Mercs, BMWs and Audis in Britain whatever the price (especially if that price is hidden under PCP deals), but as a German manufacturer my competition: Qashqais, Jags, Land Rover are suddenly more expensive.
It's a complete win-win for European luxury manufacturers to raise tariffs.

As for your actuator example are you saying Germany which has a far larger industrial base doesn't have these products? We've had to bring in German equipment for all the civil engineering projects like CrossRail (tunnel boring equipment etc.).

[Mordac]

Why does that make the figures tulip?

Because they suggest 44% exports against 8% imports. Smells pretty much like tulip to me...

[Old Greg]

Because they suggest 44% exports against 8% imports. Smells pretty much like tulip to me...

What consideration have you given in your evaluation to the differing denominators?

[sasguru]

What consideration have you given in your evaluation to the differing denominators?

That's just cruel.

[Old Greg]

That's just cruel.

He'll see you in Bridgewater.

[Mordac]

What consideration have you given in your evaluation to the differing denominators?

Er, try this: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statisti...Pages/OTS.aspx

[sasguru]

He'll see you in Bridgewater.

I'll leave that to you.