UK/USA trade deal talks start tuesday.

[IT Minion]

Yeah, the US has a lot of hardened, practiced trade lawyers and negotiators. Add in that they really don't need us for anything and we're in a weak position for negotiation.

As long as we remember that a bad deal is worse than no deal then we might be ok, but if it becomes a matter of pride or need to prop up the government because they're failing to get anything with the EU then we'll get shafted.

 

[fillyboy]

I think people are forgetting that the US is already a large trading partner with the UK and an important one given that we currently enjoy a trade surplus with them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_trading_partners_of_United_Kingdom

 

[JohnD]

So you mean they have us over a barrel.

 

[IT Minion]

I think people are forgetting that the US is already a large trading partner with the UK and an important one given that we currently enjoy a trade surplus with them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_trading_partners_of_United_Kingdom

Ah, we export more to them than we import? Trump is going to hammer us on that.

It's going to hurt if we end up losing our existing trade deals that we had as part of the EU. Hopefully we can maintain them.

 

[ajohn]

Wasn't it the TSR2 that was the biggest scandal, scrapped because the Americans decided not to buy it?,

No it was more of a case Uk ceasing to be able to spend the amount of money and deciding to buy instead. Official but rumour says it was purely a political decision and probably was. Ceasing could be read as not wanting to. All traces of it were destroyed and some other things in the radar area went as well. There seems to be some sort of deal - USA will sell us top class weapons instead of us coming up with our own. The jump jet for some reason happened but did have it's problems. Needed a ski jump on aircraft carriers to take off with a full weapons load. They requested ideas from the IME even I thought about it but some military man did some sums and found the drop at the end of the ski jump gained enough speed for it to fly. Post the Falklands the Americans were very impressed - reckoned it was not possible to shoot it down so bought some. They then proceeded to evaluate it using manoeuvring air frame loadings well over what it was designed for. We used it cautiously.

Blue Streak went because it kept blowing up and needing even more money.That might be seen as the end of the UK as a major power. Atomic bombs are wonderful things but something is needed to get them where they need to go. Delivery by plane such as the Vulcan was getting too dated so all wanted rockets.

Read all about it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Streak_(missile)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAC_TSR-2
Rumour has it that it was in a very advanced stage of development and a clear winner world wide and could have been finished. Perhaps that worried the USA.

Deals - post war USA UK agreed to swap info on the bomb. UK provided it and nothing came back.
Another - UK not getting a fair share of reconstruction projects after the Iraq war.

Warnings in the diplomatic circle - don't expect anything remotely favourable from the current lot in power. Came from a USA diplomat.

 

[ajohn]

LOL Maybe we will sell Eurofighters and Airbuses to the USA. Only problem is we don't exactly own the companies. They and a number of other things are an excellent example of what a close knit group of countries can achieve that they couldn't do on their own. Both are world leaders and save buying American. There is a lot of income from items like this.

 

[SirGalahad]

I'll wager Michel Barnier will be watching closely, very closely indeed. I hope we can show him how these things should be done.
Good luck Liz Truss.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1...lks-EU-European-Union-US-trade-deal-Liz-Truss

God help us.

 

[SirGalahad]

Do not agree with Nick Cohen often but his description of the current Governemt and leader is depressingly accurate

Instead, we have a dilettante PM, a cabinet of nobodies and a civil service policed by Vote Leave propagandists, who can fool the country in a referendum but have no idea how to manage it in a crisis. An administration of all the sycophants rather than all the talents.

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...inister-conor-burns-resigns-over-loan-threats

A close ally of Boris Johnson has resigned as a trade minister after being found to have used his position to try to intimidate a member of the public.

Conor Burns, the minister of state for trade policy, was found by the standards committee to have made veiled threats while attempting to intervene in his father’s dispute over a loan.

 

[ajohn]

The "never had it so good" is a repeat from an earlier Tory MP. Inflation running riot. people buying more and the beginning of the demise of UK industry and lack of investment. It was put over as perk for the country going into WWII where they promised to make up for it when it was over.

 

[ajohn]

They keep trying over and over again. Cummins doesn't mind hissing off 47% of the country who know more about why the other are wrong.

 

[Notch7]

I think people are forgetting that the US is already a large trading partner with the UK and an important one given that we currently enjoy a trade surplus with them.

I think Fillyboy forgets the EU is by far our most important trade partner -3x the size of the US market and it is on our doorstep, reachable by a 30min train ride.

There is a good reason why over 10,000 trucks go through Dover each day -because we have an economic superpower on our door step.

 

[ajohn]

I think people are forgetting that the US is already a large trading partner with the UK and an important one given that we currently enjoy a trade surplus with them.

Most countries in the world that sell are major traders with them. That is one of the aspects that got Trump elected. They used to have this "clock" that counted their trade deficit but it broke and was never repaired. These days there is a web one.

https://www.usdebtclock.org/

 

[ellal]

It's been revealed that UK supermarkets would have had problems keeping their shelves stocked without the European single market.

Of course we'll face that prospect again at the end of the year when the next virus wave will likely hit.
Because trade talks are stalled over fishing rights and workers/consumer/environmental rights.

Of course that doesn't bother quitters, since they've already said that they bother not whether brexit affects their jobs or their families.
But at least they'll have their blue passports as comfort, which are at the moment as useful as a chocolate teapot.

And they'll be able to enjoy those new types of fish when brittania rules the (very limited) waves again as their traditional fish have moved north.
But that won't be a problem for quitters.
Because they've become addicted to the taste of red herrings!

 

[Notch7]

again as their traditional fish have moved north.

I read somewhere that there are fish in our waters that arent popular here -but are in Europe. Also Cod isnt that popular in Europe. So there is no point 'getting back control of our fishing'.

Not that there was ever a chance that the UK would get back control of fishing rights -trade deals are about reciprocity.
Sadly brexiteers believe trade deals are about cake and eat it.

 

[ellal]

I read somewhere that there are fish in our waters that arent popular here -but are in Europe. Also Cod isnt that popular in Europe. So there is no point 'getting back control of our fishing'.

Not that there was ever a chance that the UK would get back control of fishing rights -trade deals are about reciprocity.
Sadly brexiteers believe trade deals are about cake and eat it.

Quite right - reciprocity

"But there’s no guarantee that the UK will win new quota in the Brexit negotiations. Other European member states will fight hard to retain their current access to UK waters, and they have plenty of bargaining chips – not least the access to European markets upon which many British fishermen depend. "

Taken from the article that sums up the situation nicely

Privatising the seas: how the UK turned fishing rights into a commodity
The decline of British fishing drove coastal support for leaving the EU, but many of the industry’s problems have an origin closer to home

Quitters won't like the truth - that the EU isn't the problem!