Sunday 6 May 2018

Looking on the Dark Side




....which twice featured Mark Mardell calling DUP leader Arlene Foster "Eileen Foster",...

...also featured an interview with former EU commissioner Danuta Hübner.

She was predictably negative about Brexit and the consequences for the UK of leaving the Customs Union. 

During the interview Ms Hübner said that non-tariff barriers "are not existing within the Customs Union". 

Well, apparently that's not trueAccording to Full Fact
There are no tariff barriers to trade with other members of the single market, but there are non-tariff barriers. These can be things like product standards and regulations that make trade harder. 
This sort of barrier is a particular issue in the services sector. 
Why didn't Mark Mardell pick her up on that?

Anyhow, if Ms Hübner was downbeat about our prospects if we leave the EU Customs Union then the BBC's John Pienaar, who preceded her, sounded even gloomier!:
That leaves aside the question that these trade deals that are being discussed. They're not there yet. Many people are deeply sceptical about the fact that they might be, that the European trade deal would take years to negotiate, that other parts of the world global economy - you look at America, you look at South Korea, China again -you're talking about years before they come on stream. So gaps and holes and barriers absolutely all over the place.
Can anyone think of a reason why that isn't biased reporting?

A burst of Eric Idle singing 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' is probably needed now.

1 comment:

  1. Monkey Brains6 May 2018 at 23:30

    Pienaar pining for the past as always. He seems to have forgotten that in complete contrast to other trade deals,we are starting from a position where we our trade rules are closely aligned. It's therefore more a case of deciding what rules won't apply, rather than what will...a lot simpler. If there is difficulty and delay, you can bet it's being caused by the EU, particularly the Commission.

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