Thursday , March 28 2024

Tag Archives: International Trade

Quality over Quantity – How Commonwealth Trade is globalisation’s path forward

Most of what you will see written about trade among Commonwealth member states stresses the advantages, which are numerous – affinities that lower the cost of doing business by up to 19 percent compared to non-member economies. That matters, and could be sufficient in and of itself, but there is …

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The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a New Globalization -Chapter 8, Network Trading

This is a chapter from the author’s book. You can purchase the book in full here. A Commonwealth Free Trade Agreement would resemble a ‘geodesic’ model of cooperation, with each member state functioning as a support point in and of itself. That this is a much improved approach over the old Imperial …

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The Damaging Effect of EU Ownership of UK Industry

We have all read how Foreign and EU companies have been buying up UK companies (See Selling off Britain is not a sign of strength.. and Independent Article). How much does this cost the UK?  What does it cost you and me? Foreign owned UK companies accounted for 50% of all UK business turnover in …

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The Eurozone Trojan Horse

The UK has a trade deficit with the Eurozone of about 90 billion euros per annum.  The Eurozone has a trade surplus with the world in general of about 200 billion euros pa so the UK supplies almost half of the Eurozone trade surplus. When pundits praise the Eurozone for its trade surplus …

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Pound Recovers

Unlike the vast publicity given to the sharp, but relatively small, fall in the pound after the EU Referendum, the recent recovery of the pound has had little mention. The graph below charts this recovery: You can check this graph for yourself at XE.COM, a major commercial currency and foreign exchange …

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Brexit Means a New Britain, an Innovator in Trade, Diplomacy and Development.

The Department for International Development has seen an increase in its size over recent years as the British government attempts to invest at least 0.7% of government spending into its budget. The same is for the Foreign Office which receives £1.1 billion annually and the department for international trade which …

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Two weeks to agree divorce bill? A reply to Barnier.

Michel Barnier has given Britain a fortnight to offer a divorce settlement if talks are to progress to trade. What should our reply be? We have some suggestions. Theresa May has made some very generous offers. EU countries will not be out of pocket during a transition period. Reciprocal rights …

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A Fair Trade Brexit

I was at a dinner party a couple of weeks ago, where I was asked how we could ensure Post-Brexit Free Trade Agreements could support developing countries, and not operate as a race to the bottom. I declared that Brexit was a golden opportunity to achieve this. The majority of …

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Barnier, Bonaparte & The Continental System

The EU has decided to defer the latest round of negotiations for two months. Apparently, we are to stand with our faces in the corner because we aren’t discussing the Brexit Bill. Whether this deferment will continue is a key question that needs to be answered, otherwise we face the …

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What the UK offers the Realms, Commonwealth & Wider World

I shan’t begin this article with another one of those long winded and pseudo-intellectual “Following Britains momentous decision to leave the European Union“, because it isn’t necessary. What appears to my mind to be most necessary is to explain why the UK matters to the World, Realms & Commonwealth. Even …

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Two Month Report Card – First Thoughts On Theresa May’s Premiership

After an assured and confident start, Theresa May’s government shows welcome signs of moving boldly, if not always in the right direction To date, this blog has not wasted undue time speculating about Theresa May’s premiership and assessing her early performance – not least because we are only just starting …

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