The Student Room Group

Britain's "best friend" warns trade barrier if leaves EU

The United States is not keen on pursuing a separate free trade deal with Britain if it leaves the European Union, the US trade representative, Michael Froman, said the first public comments from a senior US official on the matter.

Voters are due to decide by the end of 2017 whether the UK should remain in the EU, and opinion polls show rising support for leaving the bloc.

Froman’s comments on Wednesday undermine a key economic argument deployed by proponents of exit, who say Britain would prosper on its own and be able to secure bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with trading partners.

The US is Britain’s biggest export market after the EU, buying more than $54bn (£35bn) in goods from the UK in 2014.

“I think it’s absolutely clear that Britain has a greater voice at the trade table being part of the EU, being part of a larger economic entity,” Froman told Reuters, adding that EU membership gives Britain more leverage in negotiations.

“We’re not particularly in the market for FTAs with individual countries. We’re building platforms that other countries can join over time.”

If Britain left the EU, Froman said, it would face the same tariffs and trade barriers as other countries outside the US free trade network.

“We have no FTA with the UK so they would be subject to the same tariffs and other trade-related measures as China, or Brazil or India,” he said.

to be continued

The master has spoken, so now bend over and give her a fellatio.


Sorry lads forgot to include the source!

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/29/us-warns-britain-it-could-face-trade-barriers-if-it-leaves-eu
(edited 8 years ago)

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Original post by HucktheForde
The master has spoken, so now bend over and give her a fellatio.

Nah, Britain has already crawled to a new master: China.
Original post by Bupdeeboowah
Nah, Britain has already crawled to a new master: China.


always love a threesome yea? after sending british soldiers to fight their war, this is what you get.
Whenever a serious U.S. official says something about a possible British exit from the EU, I can't help but feel that they fundamentally misunderstand our relationship with the EU. It's not just an economic bloc and, as far as I'm concerned, any American government official is more or less unqualified to suggest that Britain should stay in the EU in its current form without also making clear what he or she thinks about being ruled by a government in Ottawa whose decisions overrule the decisions of his or her own government.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by HucktheForde
always love a threesome yea? after sending british soldiers to fight their war, this is what you get.


I suspect we're in agreement on matters of substance on this topic but what do you mean by 'their war?' If you're referring to any of the recent ones, we were the junior partner -- hardly what could seriously be termed 'sending British soldiers to fight their war.' The Americans didn't send any British soldiers to fight any war. Our own government did that. :tongue:
Original post by HucktheForde

“We have no FTA with the UK so they would be subject to the same tariffs and other trade-related measures as China, or Brazil or India,” he said.


ie the countries that really matter
Reply 6
As someone posted on the Times online under this story,

" Ah.That explains the dearth of Chinese goods in American stores"

Or words to that effect.
We don't even have a free trade agreement with them now.
Original post by United1892
We don't even have a free trade agreement with them now.


And as they said, there is unlikely to be one.
No surprise. We are a declining power. The EU or America don't need to have free trade agreements with us.

The same applies to any other major nation such as India or China.
Original post by moggis
As someone posted on the Times online under this story,

" Ah.That explains the dearth of Chinese goods in American stores"

Or words to that effect.


Actually Made in China products are more a popular cultural myth rather than reality now. America does make Chinese goods a lot more expensive and since China's wages have gone higher, many factories have moved to other countries.
No change from now is a weak argument against leaving. Trade is one of the few areas where I think the skeptics have the edge.
It's almost like the USA wants to influence this referendum for their own purposes.
Original post by TimmonaPortella
It's almost like the USA wants to influence this referendum for their own purposes.


America using their political power on the world stage to serve their own self-interests?

I don't believe it :wink:
America over the years has taken quite an independent stance; they don't want others to be able to meddle in its politics. Let us do a poll-see how many Americans would sign their country up for a similar organisation and see how many want it shall we?

And I personally am glad if the TTIP doesn't go through, but let us not make this more complicated than it has to be; would the US ever sign up to an organisation like the EU? Didn't think so.
Obama and his administration might think this way, but I really don't think the majority of Americans would agree with him. You should have seen the opposition to the North American monetary union... no one here wanted the Amero.

I've heard that the main reason the US wants Britain in the EU is so that we can indirectly influence the EU through Britain's vote. But I think if Britain actually left, we'd probably be a lot more wary of the EU in general. I wouldn't say the French or the Germans are exactly close allies. It's possible they're bluffing because they fear losing control over the EU. For instance, they might not allow us to continue marketing stuff with both metric and Imperial labelling if it weren't for the British influencing the situation. Also, there is a general socialist tendency within the EU, and Britain helps pull the EU further right economically, even if it means Britain gets pulled left.

I mean, think about this... if we said we supported a British exit, how would that affect our relations with the EU? I can't imagine they'd be happy about it. Even saying that we guaranteed Britain something if they left might step on their toes. And then what if we supported it, and Britain voted to stay in? What would we look like then? It's just not something that can be said without political consequences. But if we say something like what was said, and then Britain leaves, no one will blame us for it, and we can still pursue trading relations without anyone questioning it. You don't really know what will happen until the die is cast, so to speak. Saying you will or won't do something is a long way from following through when it actually happens.

Besides, I wouldn't say America is Britain's best friend... we're not even a Commonwealth member. Wouldn't Australia and Canada be closer?

I really think in the end, though, trade with countries that can communicate in English might be valuable enough to be a leverage point.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 16
Original post by Hydeman
Whenever a serious U.S. official says something about a possible British exit from the EU, I can't help but feel that they fundamentally misunderstand our relationship with the EU. It's not just an economic bloc and, as far as I'm concerned, any American government official is more or less unqualified to suggest that Britain should stay in the EU in its current form without also making clear what he or she thinks about being ruled by a government in Ottawa whose decisions overrule the decisions of his or her own government.


Americans are typically rather good at understanding tiered power, being from a federal state.

There's always a peculiar obsession among nationalists about where institutions are based. Does it really matter that the European Commission is in Brussels? Would the case for or against the EU be any less if it was based in Birmingham?
Reply 17
Original post by i<3milkshake
would the US ever sign up to an organisation like the EU? Didn't think so.


The Articles of Confederation suggest that Americans did. They're already in a union, and it is a union that has expanded at quite a rate. It was only in 1959 that the states of Alaska and Hawaii joined. The original states are now less than a third of the US population.
(edited 8 years ago)
Glad you used inverted commas. Pathetically, they will give in to them. We are in their to further the US's interests and influence Europe in a way that benefits them. Expect all the same lame arguments about how we damage our (one-sided) relationship with the US from pathetic politcians. Let's hope that the British public get back some of the anti-establishment spirit that used to define them, and votes out.
Original post by L i b
The Articles of Confederation suggest that Americans did. They're already in a union, and it is a union that has expanded at quite a rate. It was only in 1959 that the states of Alaska and Hawaii joined. The original states are now less than a third of the US population.


You are trying to compare the Articles of Confederation to the EU?
Incredible. You cannot compare 1700's America with 2015 UK. A lot has changed since then. You know-globalisation, the change in the kind of industries, free movement of people, free movement of capital, etc etc.

To compare the two and say "the US did it" is plain hilarious. Like I said, a lot has changed since those days. Sorry but lol.

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