No wonder the EU call the UK ‘Treasure Island’
Since Referendum, EU27 have made over £¼ TRILLION from goods sales to UK — net
Average net earnings for EU27 from the UK are now €10 billion per month
No wonder they want to stop us leaving. On Thursday the EU’s official statistics agency released its latest trade figures, for the period up to March 2019.
The figures show just how much the rest of the EU is making from the UK by selling us more than we sell them.
What the EU27 make from the UK
EU27 have earned €304 billion euros from the UK in net goods trade since the Referendum
That’s over £1/4 TRILLION pounds — NET
In the last 12 months, they have made £98 billion pounds
In March 2019 (last month for which data is available) it was up to £10.7 billion for that month alone
The original Single Market Minister comments
Early this morning the Rt Hon Sir John Redwood, MP for Wokingham, commented on the research.
“The Common Market helped close down great chunks of the UK industry by helping German and French exports. The Single Market keeps out non-EU goods and makes it dearer and more difficult to produce at home to bolster the huge surplus the continent still runs with us.
“They make us pay to stay so they can profit from our trade.”
No wonder the EU call the UK ‘Treasure Island’
This article is about trade in goods. By the EU’s own admission there is no ‘Single Market’ in services yet — after 26 years — and in any case, the EU does not report on services for a long time after a year has closed.
Trade in goods is also what Remain MPs are constantly talking about — even if very few of them have ever had any experience in this field, nor any knowledge of it.
This is about the Customs Union and Single Market
In effect, we’re talking about the Customs Union and Single Market. It is the Customs Union — zero tariffs on goods sold within the EU — which has been the preoccupation of Jeremy Corbyn and his team in discussions with Theresa May and her team over the past three weeks.
The figures above show the reality of the trading relationship between the EU27 and the UK. To call it one-sided would be an understatement.
Key trade fact:
Since the EU Referendum,
the EU27 countries have sold over £¼ TRILLION pounds more goods to the UK
than we have sold to them,
The irony of it all
Yesterday Mr. Corbyn told Mrs. May that talks between the Labour and Conservative parties were over. This hardly came as a surprise to anyone. Another few weeks had been wasted by Mrs. May on a pointless delaying exercise.
The fact is that Theresa May’s surrender treaty delivers a de facto customs union with the EU anyway, so Jeremy Corbyn’s big play on this was all smoke and mirrors.
The balance of power
Putting aside the deliberate Remain tactics of Mrs. May and her negotiators over the last three years, we believe that there is a permanent malaise in the political class and in the Civil Service.
Much has been written of the ethos of a “management of decline” being prevalent. I genuinely believe that this is true. We just don’t see a confident, successful, and economically-powerful United Kingdom being promoted from Government and bureaucratic circles.
I believe in the United Kingdom
I believe in the UK. We produce simple analyses of official figures from the EU to demonstrate why we should be full of optimism and confidence about the UK once again entering the world stage as a fully-independent actor.
With some honorable and notable exceptions, it now seems that only a comprehensive clear-out of many politicians and Civil Service heads of the department is required if we are to see our true potential as a country.
And the one thing which could start to deliver this is new and real leadership from the top.
[ Sources: EU official statistics agency — Eurostat ]
