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1/ I know you all expect me to dunk on him I'm honestly just saddened for what shysters have done to the UK's discourse with this Art XXIV smokescreen.
There's no sane universe in which a Prime Ministerial candidate should grilled on sub-paragraphs of the GATT by @afneil. None.
There's no sane universe in which a Prime Ministerial candidate should grilled on sub-paragraphs of the GATT by @afneil. None.
2/ The GATT 24 issue isn't actually that complicated.
Question: "Is there a WTO legal way the UK and EU could mutually agree not to charge tariffs on one another's products?"
Answer: "Yes there is and it's called a Free Trade Agreement."
That's it. No paragraphs. No legalese.
Question: "Is there a WTO legal way the UK and EU could mutually agree not to charge tariffs on one another's products?"
Answer: "Yes there is and it's called a Free Trade Agreement."
That's it. No paragraphs. No legalese.
3/ The obvious follow up isn't that complicated either.
Question: "Is the EU going to agree to something like that?"
Answer: "They'd have extended existing arrangements under the WA and negotiated towards something like this, but have said they won't do so on Day 1 of No-Deal."
Question: "Is the EU going to agree to something like that?"
Answer: "They'd have extended existing arrangements under the WA and negotiated towards something like this, but have said they won't do so on Day 1 of No-Deal."
4/ There is some complexity, I concede, to the reasoning behind the EU position.
Unlike the UK, which has held tariff imposition up to be of totemic importance, the EU has consistently recalled that while No-Deal tariffs are A problem, they're not THE problem.
Unlike the UK, which has held tariff imposition up to be of totemic importance, the EU has consistently recalled that while No-Deal tariffs are A problem, they're not THE problem.
5/ Eliminating tariffs bilaterally under an immediate FTA would only increase the already starkly elevated paperwork requirements for UK-EU trade, do nothing for regulatory divergence, and likely come without the provisions on subsidies and state aid the EU needs for comfort.
6/ The EU is also not nearly as exposed to UK tariffs as those who cite its total UK export figure or its bilateral trade surplus would have you believe.
(Yes, it's this chart again).
(Yes, it's this chart again).
7/ The gambit of shysters and hucksters, to obscure the onrushing consequences of a No-Deal Brexit behind a smokescreen of GATT sub-paragraphs and legalese, has prevented any discussion of these complexities or challenges.
They deliberately and maliciously broke the discourse.
They deliberately and maliciously broke the discourse.
8/ So now here we are, witness to the soul destroying sight of Boris Johnson correcting @afneil on GATT nomenclature only to be revealed as only familiar with the one sub-paragraph he thinks he likes.
The EU asked the UK not to waste this time.
I hope the charlatans are proud.
The EU asked the UK not to waste this time.
I hope the charlatans are proud.
