Thursday 10 December 2020

The WTO.

 


On the map above, the green areas represent members of the WTO (The World Trade Organisation).

The much smaller blue area is the EU (The European Union).

The Yellow and red areas are either thinking of joining the WTO, or are observers. If you look very carefully at the map above, you will note that the UK is already coloured GREEN.

The WTO boasts 164 member countries, whilst the EU has just 27.

The WTO employs 650 staff, whereas the EU employs 32,000.

Strangely, the EU collectively, is one of those 164 members, as is the United Kingdom. As you might imagine, the WTO covers considerably more world trade than the EU; in fact 96.4% of ALL world trade goes through the WTO. Just look closely at that map; it gives a good idea of their scope!

So why the hell are we allowing the EU to hold the UK to ransom? Presuming that a 'No Deal' is now very likely, the UK will simply turn her head towards Luxemburg (the home of the WTO) rather than Brussels, pay her considerably reduced dues, and continue to trade with the whole world; including the EU. 

I cannot see a problem. The EU is a trading pipsqueak in comparison with the WTO, and so what if in future the Brits drive Hondas instead of VW's, drink Californian (or English) fizzy wine instead of French, and eat NZ Cheddar instead of Cantal.

Would anyone either care or notice?

35 comments:

  1. All very sensible. And Australia could start exporting our fine butter to the UK, suspended since the inception of the EEC with their heavily subsidised dairy farmers.

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    1. We always used to import butter and cheese from Oz.... I hope it happens again.

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    2. Butter is an interesting one. In round figures I think the UK imports about 6,000 tons of butter a month. Australia exports about 20,000 tonnes a year. Why would Australia leave it's current markets to supply the UK on the other side of the world? Of course nothing is that simple because the UK actually exports about 5,000 tonnes a month. Seems crazy to me but presumably the farmers and supermarkets and butter users (domestic and business using it in production) have their economic reasons.

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    3. Plus it would melt on the way across the equator.

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    4. It was one of the rules when the joined the Common Market that we HAD to import a minimum of 20% of our milk based products. Farmers were tipping their excess down the drain. How we got from there, to exporting 5,000 tonnes of butter a month, I can hardly imagine!

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    5. Thanks for extra information Graham and Cro. Who could forget the Butter Mountain.

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  2. I wrote along similar about 3 years ago would you believe. We should be in and bedded down by now. I don't bother to listen to Brexit news anymore.

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    1. It's the final few days, and I cannot understand why Boris isn't taking the High Road. He should be threatening to stop all imports at Calais, etc, and making them tow the UK line. Having them dictate terms to the UK is ridiculous.

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    2. I understand that those imports include drugs that many people depend on for their lives and most of our fresh veg.
      No insulin for the diabetics and shelves empty of fresh veg (or very much more expensive), even in the short term is not what people were promised when we were asked if they wanted to leave the EU. This should have all been sorted out years ago.

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  3. What I find impossible to understand is why the Globalists think a Protectionist organisation like the EU is a good idea. I suspect joined up thinking is beyond them.

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    1. The ins and outs of world trade are beyond me, but no doubt some (one) organisation is needed to settle disputes etc. Far better that it is done by one outfit (the WTO), than several. Even in the EU there is the EEA and various other options; time it was scrapped. They are inefficient and politically troublesome.

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  4. Actually not very sensible in my opinion.

    WTO - 96.4% of trade is conducted by WTO members. That is not the same as it “going through the WTO”. If a WTO member has a trade agreement with another country the trade is subject to that agreement. It is only if there is no agreement WTO terms apply.

    The 52% of the UK imports are from the EU and 25% of food is imported. WTO terms will increase prices. Yes, the Uk could go back to importing butter and cheese from the other side of the world...that will be great for climate change and will necessitate a trade agreement with Australia.

    But don’t worry, the UK has a trade agreement with Canada. A wonderful trade agreement which is pretty much the same as it was when the Uk was part of the EU.

    In my view the decision was dreadful and one that many people made based on emotion and not facts. An oven ready deal to go indeed!

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    1. Trading with the EU will continue, but being able to also trade with another 164 countries on an equal footing must be an advantage. No doubt some prices will rise, but others may fall. It will take a couple of years to sort it all out.

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    2. But it isn’t trading in an equal footing, that’s the trouble. WTO tariffs are a back stop. Trading with EU countries will continue, with tariffs.

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  5. You talk as if you never left Britain to live in France. You will be able to continue to drink French fizz and eat French cheese (and New Zealand Cheddar) as if nothing has happened, but you may not be able to afford English lamb or Marmite for much longer.

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    1. I only have another 8 months here, I will be turfed out before October 1st 2021. After then I will be allowed to return home for just 3 months each year. I never could afford English Lamb; I buy NZ. As for Marmite, I have a stockpile. With all the nonsense we're getting, we'll be very happy to spend time in the UK again.

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  6. I assumed you would apply for residency Cro.
    If you have been living in France for over 5 years, you will be eligible for permanent residency and a 10-year renewable residency permit.

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    1. Unfortunately the UK refuse to give me an S1 certificate so I can't get my French 'Carte Vitale' health insurance, which is an essential part of getting a Carte de Sejour.

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    2. Thanks for replying. Now I need to research S1 certificates and understand eligibility. I am sure TGIs was all perfectly clear when people voted in that referendum.

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    3. The other thing to remember is that people who apply for a post-Brexit Carte de Séjour, will be taxed on world wide property ownership. We have valuable properties in the UK, and therefore it would be crazy to stay resident here.

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    4. It might be an idea to spend a few weeks back in the UK before you decide to give up on living in France. It's not the place it used to be when you left. Watching the news on UK TV is not the same as experiencing for yourself the traffic, the noise, the litter and all the other unpleasant aspects of life in the UK. It depends of course on where in the UK you would choose to live, there are a few oases of civilisation as you knew it here and there, if you have the means.

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  7. I quite like English sparkling wine. There is a very nice vineyard in Cornwall where you can have dinner and take a selection home. Yes it is a bit more expensive than cava, prosecco and cremant, but I suppose we should be trying to cut down on airmiles and freight for goods anyways and buy British where we can. If the supermarkets over here pushed seasonal veg on to us and the chefs on TV then we could also get people more into the fruit and veg we grow here. I am very lucky in the little town I live in that the butchers and the bakery are extremely good. The veg shop not so much as a lot is imported but if we dont ask for local stuff they wont stock it. Vote with your £££'s I say.

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    1. There was a vineyard (Nyetimber, I think) that was just down the road from my people's home in Sussex. They produced Champagne-style fizz that won prizes world-wide over and above French varieties. I've never actually tried it myself; but I will.

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  8. It is very interesting to follow along with this. I don't feel like I understand all the ins and outs well enough to comment, but reading on the various blogs, I am learning a lot. So you don't own your cottage, Cro?

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    1. Of course we do; what made you think we didn't? But at the moment, I almost wish we didn't.

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    2. I don't really understand residencies, but if you have a house and land there, and have lived there for 40 years, why do you have to leave? Again, I probably sound very stupid. It's just not something that I've had little time to follow, being someone distracted by our situation here. I thought that Brexit referred to trades. I guess I don't understand how it comes to affect citizens.

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  9. I must confess that I do not truly know what the hell is going on but what I do know is that Johnson has not got "an oven ready deal" and never had one. It was all hot air.

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    1. Me too YP. I think the only 'oven ready deal' was NO DEAL.

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    2. The "oven ready deal" was a way of winning over the former labour voters who believe that leaving the EU was the solution to ending all their problems. He lied, as he always does.

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  10. The EU seems like some sort of hoax arranged to benefit few. Certainly not England.

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    1. We hear this morning that the EU will ban all travel to EU countries from the UK as from Jan 1st 2021; because of COVID-19 (In fact it's because of spitefulness). At least this will benefit the UK tourism industry, by keeping people at home. Maybe it will also stop me being thrown out in October.

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    2. The EU seems to be throwing up smoke and mirror threats. Ideally the EU will die off while other countries pull away. WTO seems like the better bet. Time will tell.

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    3. So a better bet is to trade with tariffs?

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  11. The trouble with the WTO is that reaching agreements can take years. I worked there for 35 years (but it's actually in Geneva not Luxemburg). We were lucky enough to be the only international organization actually on Lake Geneva so spoilt rotten!

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