Share this page!

David Henig Profile picture
Twitter logo
18 Jan, 5 tweets, 2 min read
1. I have in the past frequently suggested that sectors most protected by trade agreements in every country are those with the ability to dump produce outside a country's Parliament
2. This hasn't taken long
3. Happy to take my share of surplus product
UK government shock that free trade agreement do not equal free trade, are not always universally welcomed by their own supporters, and the anti-trade backlash (which of course included the Brexit vote) does include UK post-Brexit trade policy.
Waits for the "but they were voting for global Britain" reply. Sure, of course they were. Just the export-only version. Like supporters of free trade in many countries.
Serious thought: That's a lot of lorries, this could be a lot of disruption.
Selfish thought: If I pop up to Westminster can I get some good food, and does that count as essential travel?

Recalling that @SamuelMarcLowe used to predict that Brexit would see the UK become more French on trade policy. Reckon that prediction is on track.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with David Henig

David Henig Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @DavidHenigUK

David Henig Profile picture
20 Jan
I understand the need for business organisations to be on friendly terms with government but I really think they have to be careful joining the fantasy world of this quotes. The UK-Japan deal is neither specifically designed for UK needs or demonstrates UK trade leadership.
And for the government, yes of course the words of business are nice even if government might have written them, but if they aren't actually true they will prove rather empty when business fails to take advantage.
The UK government's most dangerous and let's face it Trumpian quality is the level of fantasy in statements and PM speeches, like the no barriers to GB-NI trade, or all new trade barriers with the EU are just teething troubles. And yes the new US administration will notice.
Read 6 tweets
David Henig Profile picture
20 Jan
A huge relief today at the change of US President and a return to some sort of orthodox government. Now pre-2016 US in international relations wasn't easy for the world, as post-2020 won't be. But it will be normal. And expect normality... and you can see where I'm going here...
A UK government trying to cozy up to the new administration is I suspect going to be asked some pretty tough questions about the UK's present and future - starting with Northern Ireland and Scotland, and then our neighbourhood.
Because the US will expect support from the UK on the major global issues such as China. That's the nature of the post-war relationship. But our primary role is in our region. The US doesn't expect South Korea to influence Europe. What is the UK going to do in Europe?
Read 6 tweets
David Henig Profile picture
19 Jan
MPs voting to weaken UK trade negotiating strength is sadly unsurprising. That is how you get to a position where the EU expects us to fold at the end point of negotiations and we do. Australia, New Zealand and the US will expect the same.
It is remarkable how little the UK government has learnt about trade negotiations since 2016. It still thinks secrecy and no detailed objectives gets good deals for the country. We have now seen how this fails. But still no change.
And in their failure to engage Parliament (and devolveds etc) properly in trade deals the government is rejecting the view of business, civil society, trade experts and the House of Lords. Impressive and unwarranted arrogance.
Read 6 tweets
David Henig Profile picture
19 Jan
"We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny"
You may note that trade with the 60-odd countries with which we have Free Trade Agreements does not appear to be making up for the new EU trade barriers.
So far the impacts of the new trade barriers with the EU are exactly as predicted by neutral specialists. And those GDP reductions do in fact have an impact on 'real people'.
Read 5 tweets
David Henig Profile picture
18 Jan
Today's UK-EU trade deal reflection - what is rarely stated in discussions about the deal's shortcomings is that they reflect UK government policy choices - in particular that control of immigration and a US trade deal are a higher priority than an EU deal.
Thus, why was it not a UK government priority to secure for UK musicians the rights to tour the EU? Because that would probably have required a reciprocal right to be given to those in the EU, which we didn't want to give. Choice.
Meanwhile why did the UK government not seek or secure a reduction in food inspections for GB products going to the EU? Because that would probably have required fixing food regulations in a way that might have been an obstacle to a US trade deal.
Read 8 tweets
David Henig Profile picture
17 Jan
On musicians rights to tour in the UK. The other obvious thing to say is that this was evidently not a UK priority in negotiations.
Maybe we could finally learn that trade agreements in the abstract or even as a large number that can be claimed as a triumph are meaningless, it is the content that counts, and that content has to be specific to UK interests.
True, but it is very much a scale. On which a Free Trade Agreement is 'less' free trade than a Customs Union, Single Market, or both. Why so many countries join their neighbours in such arrangements.
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @DavidHenigUK has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @DavidHenigUK!

Read all threads by @DavidHenigUK