Have your cake and eat it.

[PurpleGorilla]

Founding EU members Luxembourg and Belgium (both poor BTW) know how to have their cake and eat it.

[Fred Bloggs]

basically if you go into a supermarket or bakery and buy a cake, you have a cake. If you eat the cake then normally the cake disappears.

For example

The UK eats the cake

The cake disappears

Don't you just need to wait until the cake is on a BOGOF?

[NigelJK]

they do 10% of their trade with us.

This is the disadvantage of dealing with the EU as a whole. We import 90% of our stuff from a handful of countries, you can be sure that those countries will be driving the negotiations for the EU. Those countries that are just starting to make inroads into our marketplace (e.g. Poland) will want a free a trade as possible as they import hardly anything form us.

Still, at least the French can stop importing British Beef, but they'll lose the contract to supply Beef to the Army.

[d000hg]

Are individual EU nations allowed to do ANY deals independently or are they forbidden as part of their membership?

[motoukenin]

This is the disadvantage of dealing with the EU as a whole. We import 90% of our stuff from a handful of countries, you can be sure that those countries will be driving the negotiations for the EU. Those countries that are just starting to make inroads into our marketplace (e.g. Poland) will want a free a trade as possible as they import hardly anything form us.

Still, at least the French can stop importing British Beef, but they'll lose the contract to supply Beef to the Army.

Not sure it quite works like that, Canada have spent the last 6 years trying to get a trade negotiation with Europe only to be blocked by two Belgian regions, regions that Canada do no trade with.

EU could not agree on what colour the sky was let alone complex trade agreements.

[NigelJK]

Thing is I can't see BMW letting Brighton get away with the same thing

[motoukenin]

Thing is I can't see BMW letting Brighton get away with the same thing

As a BMW owner I would not buy any other car. For half the price I could buy a Vauxhall or Ford that does more but I don't, a 5% - 10% increase in BMW prices would not stop me getting another.

Even with WTO rules which I believe for cars would be a maximum of 10% tariff I will be getting my next BMW , Carbon Fibre was made industrial by the Brits and now sold back to us, familiar story?

[GB9]

As a BMW owner I would not buy any other car. For half the price I could buy a Vauxhall or Ford that does more but I don't, a 5% - 10% increase in BMW prices would not stop me getting another.

Even with WTO rules which I believe for cars would be a maximum of 10% tariff I will be getting my next BMW , Carbon Fibre was made industrial by the Brits and now sold back to us, familiar story?

I always said the same about Porsche but other cars standards have increased and the price difference so wide that it's difficult to justify against others.

[NigelJK]

Jaguar cars are now best selling in their class(es), British designed and built and best of all are great to own, just don't by a diesel - it just not the done thing.

[The_Equalizer]

Jaguar cars are now best selling in their class(es), British designed and built and best of all are great to own, just don't by a diesel - it just not the done thing.

I have a real thing for the XJ. Just have to wait until they are 15-years-old so I can buy one.