Opposition to tariff-free access to UK markets for Australian farmers is protectionism, pure and simple. Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), argues that removing tariffs would make it ‘all but impossible’ for British family farms ‘to compete with vast volumes of imports from the southern hemisphere produced in a very different manner’. … Continue reading Britain should welcome cheaper food from Australia, not tax it
Category: Brexit
Brexit tide is finally turning
Brexit is not yet done and there are plenty of problems that still need fixing, especially in Northern Ireland and in the service sectors. Nonetheless, public perceptions of Brexit have improved significantly, business concerns are fading, and now we have hard evidence of a quick rebound in UK goods exports to the EU too. According … Continue reading Brexit tide is finally turning
Is Britain winning or losing from Brexit?
Brexit pessimists are having a field day following official confirmation that UK exports to the EU slumped in January – and they have a point. Anything that increases the cost of doing business across borders was always likely to reduce trade. Nonetheless, the first month’s trade figures after the end of the transition period are … Continue reading Is Britain winning or losing from Brexit?
Have UK exports to the EU really been ‘slashed by 68%’?
The lead in Sunday’s Observer (7th February) was ‘Fury at Gove as exports to EU slashed by 68% since Brexit’. If this headline is right, this is indeed a ‘Brexit disaster’. Fortunately, some basic due diligence suggests that it’s over the top. The Observer claims that ‘the volume of exports going through British ports to … Continue reading Have UK exports to the EU really been ‘slashed by 68%’?
Plain-speaking Economics 