40 EU TRADE DEALS WITH 70 COUNTRIES? I DONT THINK SO
“The UK is seeking to replicate about 40 EU free trade agreements, covering more than 70 countries.”
- BBC, 11 Feb 2019
“The UK is party to around 40 European treaties, covering trade with more than 70 countries and making up 12% of the UK’s total trade.”
Sky News, 11 Feb 2019
WHAT? WELL, THAT'S NOT TRUE BBC, SKY NEWS. WHY ARE YOU SPREADING FAKE NEWS?
Even the EU only claims deals with 36 countries are in force, and that’s optimistic.
So I ask again why are you spreading fake news?
Let's look at the reality: Today the EU claims ‘agreements’ with only 36 countries are ‘in place’.
This is half the number of 70 countries spoken about by the British media.
The vast majority of these are tiny or meaningless. Very few of these are what might be called Free Trade Agreements.
Only 1 is officially labeled by the EU as a “Free Trade Agreement” — South Korea
3 of the 36 ‘agreements in place’ have no effect on tariffs anyway
3 of the remaining 33 are already part of the EU Customs Union, eg Andorra
3 of the remaining 30 are already part of the EEA (European Economic Area), eg Liechtenstein
6 of the remaining 27 are “Stabilisation & Association Agreements” with EU-accession countries
5 of the last 21 are in fact one ‘Partnership Agreement’ deal with Southern African states such as Lesotho
Of the remaining 21, there are “Association Agreements” with tiny countries like Moldova.
The only trade arrangements of any significance which the UK might wish to replicate are with Switzerland (completed by Dr. Liam Fox yesterday), South Korea, Japan (only just signed by the EU and not yet completed), Canada (not yet ratified by EU), Norway, Mexico, and Israel. Norway is part of the EEA and therefore should be a discussion amongst friends.
The EU’s official list of “Agreements in Place”
Albania (Western Balkans)
Algeria
Andorra
Armenia
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Western Balkans)
Botswana (SADC)
Chile
Egypt
Eswatini (SADC)
Faroe Islands
Georgia
Iceland
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Kosovo (UNSCR 1244)
Lebanon
Lesotho (SADC)
Liechtenstein
Macedonia (Western Balkans)
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro (Western Balkans)
Morocco
Mozambique (SADC)
Namibia (SADC)
Norway
Palestinian Authority
San Marino
Serbia (Western Balkans)
South Africa
South Korea
Switzerland
Syria
Tunisia
Turkey
Now Look at the above table, and without in any way wishing to be disrespectful to many of the countries on the list, where’s the USA? Where are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia? (All members of the G20? All the above are growing economies Argentina after years of being in the doldrums because of terrible Government policies is beginning to show promise and is an untapped market for trade both ways.
Yesterday the broadcast media greeted with disdain the good news that the Rt Hon Dr. Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, had signed a trade deal with Switzerland. The story was not that he had signed a trade deal, but that he was ‘prioritizing’ the largest economies with whom to agree on a deal pre-Brexit.
What on earth would they expect? The majority of the countries on the EU’s list of ‘agreements in place’ would barely be noticeable if for any reason they chose not to replicate the deals they have with the EU. Indeed, in many cases, these ‘deals’ come at a net cost, such as those with EU-accession countries where the EU actually gives these countries billions and which the UK taxpayer part-pays for.
Do journalists expect Dr Liam Fox to give the same weight to tiny Moldova with whom the UK does virtually no business, as to Switzerland, with which the UK does a lot of trade?
The propaganda is relentless
British journalists who want to present the EU as some form of Holy Grail are ably assisted by the EU, which puts out a daily stream of propaganda. Many journalists seem to read the first few lines, and this is what is presented to the public.
It doesn’t take long to drill down and see the true picture, but the real facts don’t fit the narrative, and so are ignored.
Three years ago, the EU claimed just six ‘free trade agreements’. After attention started to be focused on this area of EU incompetence during the Referendum campaign, the number of ‘agreements’ which were listed by the EU steadily multiplied. Soon all manner of loose ‘cooperation agreements’ started to be included, as readers can see above.
Even with agreements which aren’t free trade agreements at all, the EU can only list 36 countries with whom something is ‘in place.
The ultimate irony
Most British journalists don’t seem to understand one fundamental thing. It is not necessary to have a Free Trade Agreement with a country in order to trade with it successfully.
Currently, the top country taking UK exports is the USA. Not Germany, not France, not even Italy. For years the USA has been the UK’s biggest customer.
Thanks to the EU’s incompetence at negotiating trade deals, they couldn’t even manage to conclude a US deal when the Europhiliac President Obama was in power.
A full, clean World Trade Brexit on 29 March means that the UK can finally deal with the World on its own terms in the interests of the British people, not in the interests of French farmers, Spanish orange growers, or German washing machine manufacturers.
Why should any of us be bothered with the interests of French farmers, Spanish orange growers, or German washing machine manufacturers? Do you think for one moment they even give us British a moment of their day THEY DONT they see us as someone to sell us their products, a way for them to make a living and some to get very rich indeed? So why should we give them a second thought when there is a far bigger world out there that we could do deals with on OUR TERMS?
Whether we negotiate free trade deals, reduce our ‘most-favoured’ tariffs for WTO trade, or a combination of the two, the UK’s trading future will be full of possibilities for British business and British success.
Since writing the EU has two more trade deals Magnolia and Singapore
