Oh brother! “You don’t need a trade deal to trade”. “Just look at all the goods in the UK shops that say: Made in China”. This simple nonsense is coming from the LEAVE campaign. Its’ deception. What seems harmless enough isn’t. There are several reasons why this proposition is wrong.
To start, if you buy goods at any standard the seller offers then sooner or later you’re going to have problems. But if you don’t want say; lead paint on children’s toys then you have to insist on specific safety standards being met. The exporting Country accepts the deal and meets your standards. So, the – Made in China – goods we see in the shops in the UK have to meet European standards. The opposite is true. European exporters have to meet Chinese standards if they are to accept our exports. When a formal trade deal is finally done one aim is to harmonise standards as much as possible to make more future trade possible.
If we didn’t have common standards in the European Union, then even in the European market you could have 27 different arrangements for each Country. The combinations and permutations get complex, expensive to implement and keep track of as they change over time. The results are of little benefit except to those who profit from processing the piles of paperwork. Ask anyone who has worked as an export clerk before we joined the Common Market.
Next, if you have common standards that work well then inward investors line-up to make products in the UK so as to access a large European market. If those investors were only offered access to the domestic market, then they are more likely to go elsewhere.
Next, if you are sitting at the table and voting on the European standards to be used then its advantageous for you and your exporters. Standing back and letting others do that work leaves a Country in a vulnerable position. Modifications to standards can wipe out an industry overnight.
Next, in reality parts, components and supplies come from everywhere. So, even if you don’t care about anything other than the UK domestic market for your products then trade deals still make a difference. For example; you might be making an artisan cheese that sells to a few retailers in a small area but the machinery in the creamery comes from Europe.
On this subject the REMAIN campaign is about holding on to these advantages, maintaining influence and increasing prosperity.
John Vincent 