Today’s bit of trade wisdom is on the importance of imports. Because the longstanding talking point of “they sell more to us than we to them” is still around and - wherever you stand on #Brexit - it has to go. Short thread. @CharlieElphicke
@CharlieElphicke Point 1: imports are necessary for industry. Why is that? We live in the age of global value chains. What does that mean? Products are made from parts that come from all over. SMMTP’s latest statistics say only 44% of the stuff British cars are made of is actually from the UK.
@CharlieElphicke If you eliminate the imports, you have to replace them. Some can be replaced at higher costs, others might not. You put the industry at risk. At worst: you kill it.
@CharlieElphicke Point 2: Some imports are vital. Medicines. Food. Example: the UK does not produce any of the longer lived radioisotopes needed in some vital medical treatment. Cutting imports off hurts the industry that sells. It kills the patients. Who needs whom more? bnms.org.uk/news/press-rel…
@CharlieElphicke Point 3: imports are good for consumers. Yes, I can live without @theonlyparmesan , but I enjoy parmeggiano reggiano. Product choice improves consumers’ lives. And we are all consumers.
@CharlieElphicke @theonlyparmesan In the end, what makes a society (materially) rich. It is the goods it has. Whether imported or exported. Now whether this is environmentally wise or philosophically acceptable is another thing, which needs to be discussed separately.
@CharlieElphicke @theonlyparmesan Point 4: This is not a pro or anti-Brexit thing. This is just economics (the basic economics that even trade lawyers get). And it is understood by economists on both sides of this visceral divide. How do I know?
@CharlieElphicke @theonlyparmesan Some pro-Brexit economists favour abolishing tariffs. The consequence would be that imports get cheaper (and more). But they don’t favour that because they want to enrich exporters, but because they want to favour consumers. (What it does to UK manufacturers is another story)
