New York Times (April 13)
“Brexit is not doable because it makes no sense, whatever the prime minister’s scattershot efforts or offers to resign. You can hoodwink people—but not if you give them three years to reflect on how they were hoodwinked before doing the deed the hoodwinking was about. The British cannot actually go through with something that will lower their incomes, make them poorer, lose them jobs, drain investment, expose their market to trade deals over which they would have no say, and—just an afterthought—lead to the breakup of Britain.”
Tags: Brexit, Hoodwink, Incomes, Investment, Jobs, Market, PM, Scattershot, Trade deals
The Economist (October 22)
“Twentieth-century trade deals slashed tariffs. Newer ones between rich countries, such as CETA, focus on cutting other barriers to trade.” It took seven years to hammer out the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a trade deal that would eliminate duplicative safety checks, as well as about 99% of customs duties between the Canada and the EU. But gaining final approval of any trade deal is increasingly difficult. Last week, the regional parliament of Wallonia blocked the deal, which was estimated to “make Europe €5.8 billion a year richer.”
Tags: Barriers, Canada, CETA, Customs, Duplicative, Duties, Europe, Parliament, Safety checks, Tariffs, Trade deals, Wallonia
