It might be worse than "economists warned about" but not worse than we mere (ex) Freight Fowarding/Customs Agents tried to warn of....Read
"The reality of Brexit is much, much worse than we economists warned about. It goes like this. The British economy is starting to shut down
"The reality of Brexit is much, much worse than we economists warned about. It goes like this. The British economy is starting to shut down
like a heart attack. Europe is simply stopping sending goods to Britain, and Britain to Europe.
The costs involved have soared from “nothing” to “impossible.” Nobody’s had to fill out customs/SPS forms and declarations in these places for over thirty years.
The costs involved have soared from “nothing” to “impossible.” Nobody’s had to fill out customs/SPS forms and declarations in these places for over thirty years.
since then, economies have changed. It’s not so easy to declare where a thing was “made” or if it ever touched this kind of raw material or that or what its intended use is The only option is to pay a fortune to someone who can. Faced with mountains of paperwork for each shipment
businesses are just giving up, throwing their hands up in despair. And that means a) mass unemployment, as they go bankrupt b) shortages and c) higher prices. Sound dire? It is. British people are shocked, suddenly — after voting for Brexit — to discover that ordering stuff from
Europe, which used to be as simple as a click, now comes with massive taxes, customs, and suspicious “handling charges,” which they have to pay, or else. Charges that easily add 25% to 50% to the cost of basic things.
And while we economists warned Brexit would make Brits poorer
And while we economists warned Brexit would make Brits poorer
even we (economists) underestimated the effect. We thought tariffs would rise, but we didn’t think that trade would come to a sudden stop, which means mass unemployment and shortages and higher prices are all exploding. That’s the worst case scenario, and it’s fast becoming real.
What is it called when trade suddenly stops?
Sanctions.
Britain is the only country in the world — the only one I can think of in modern history — amazingly, comically, painfully dumb enough to impose sanctions on itself.
Sanctions.
Britain is the only country in the world — the only one I can think of in modern history — amazingly, comically, painfully dumb enough to impose sanctions on itself.
Almost overnight — it’s been less than a month — you can’t get basic things like European medicine, wine, cheese, beer, clothes, shoes. They’re just…gone. Poof. That might not sound like a big deal, until you consider that Europe supplies many of Britain’s goods,
while ..
while ..
Britain mainly supplies Europe with services. Services are easy to relocate — just pick up and hire people in Europe, which is exactly what many British businesses are doing. Goods are not easy to relocate — you have to move a whole factory.
So Brits are now poorer; guaranteed
So Brits are now poorer; guaranteed
in a hard way — not just less money, but less stuff to spend it on, too — they suddenly have vastly less “consumer choice.” Imagine if entire sections of the supermarket — reflecting whole sectors of the economy — simply vanished overnight.
You probably can’t because...
You probably can’t because...
because it’s something that doesn’t tend to happen in the absence of, say, a bully like America sanctioning you, which is something that usually only happens to poor brown people.
But nobody sanctions themselves, right?
That’s just…idiotic! Well, not until now, anyways.
But nobody sanctions themselves, right?
That’s just…idiotic! Well, not until now, anyways.
What kind of country is foolish enough to impose sanctions on itself?
What Brits don’t seem to understand is that they are paying tariffs to their own government now, and tariffs are just a tax.
But if all Brits wanted to do was pay higher taxes…
What Brits don’t seem to understand is that they are paying tariffs to their own government now, and tariffs are just a tax.
But if all Brits wanted to do was pay higher taxes…
they didn’t need to leave the EU to do it. They just had to write a cheque. Are you beginning to see how painfully stupid all this is?
The response often comes, from dummies with names like Lord Botherington Fothergill-Smythe: “We’ll have more in the public purse!”
The response often comes, from dummies with names like Lord Botherington Fothergill-Smythe: “We’ll have more in the public purse!”
No, you won’t. Paying higher taxes to make the economy smaller means less tax revenue & investment overall. Like other nations hit with sanctions — Venezuela, Iran — it’s becoming hard to get the stuff Brits are used to enjoying, as shelves simply sit empty, unemployment explodes
prices soar, and shortages become the stuff of everyday life.
All that would be painfully stupid enough — imposing sanctions on yourself — if Britain wasn’t also currently the world’s leading example of how to get a deadly pandemic so catastrophically wrong
All that would be painfully stupid enough — imposing sanctions on yourself — if Britain wasn’t also currently the world’s leading example of how to get a deadly pandemic so catastrophically wrong
P.s. & remember UK has not yet started full import controls
Flow over compliance (smugglers charter) prioritised into UK until 1/7
non deferred customs declarations/checks and compliance dox/SPS checks (dox from 1/4) *not until 1/7* ...or later
Flow over compliance (smugglers charter) prioritised into UK until 1/7
non deferred customs declarations/checks and compliance dox/SPS checks (dox from 1/4) *not until 1/7* ...or later
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