, 8 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
This sounds like a big deal. But until / unless we see the detail, it would be wise to be cautious. There are thousands of tariff lines, and we may be going zero on 80% of lines or 80% of imports - and that could be quite a significant difference
Take for example ball point pens (96081010 in product code terms). A 3.7% tariff. Is there any real point to this tariff? Although it is unlikely it would make much difference to the price whether we had the tariff or not
Some major caveats though. One, are we preserving enough room to do trade deals? Countries don't do these out of the goodness of their hearts, or even because trade is good, but because they want preference. Will we be able to offer this?
Two, has Government done enough research on the possible impact on companies, for example where the tariff is the margin? Probably not, and expect some controversies should this ever happen.
Three, is there a significant impact on developing countries, who currently have unilateral preferences. Remember the Brexiteers who said the UK could give them a better deal than the EU? It might turn out that the opposite is the case, and that wouldn't be a good look.
Finally, and most significant, forget frictionless trade with the EU, including in Ireland, if the UK significantly cuts tariffs. The EU will have to impose strict checks at all points of entry as the smuggling risk is otherwise huge.
Final thought. To threaten such changes to tariffs in 3 and a half weeks time with little consultation and no Parliamentary debate would be pretty outrageous. One suspects Government does not expect this to happen. /end
PS if you're going to be an instant expert on tariffs you need to consult the WTO's exciting publication, "World Tariff Profiles 2018". Here's an extract for the EU, relatively self-explanatory...?
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