Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

Yes, "Don't panic!" :D

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

More likely "so long, suckers - I've got mine!"

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

The thought of selling NI down the road for a 'true' Brexit is probably more than Bozza can handle, particularly with President Biden leaning on him in the background. Looks like Dom and Lee couldn't stomach what they see as a sell out deal with the EU - strange because pretty much everyone else could see the only possible endgame with Donald gone. Good riddance to bad rubbish as they say.

Bozza has form for flip flopping his position on the EU - maybe he's realised there's still time for one more flip (or is it a flop??).

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

EU no longer the World's largest trading bloc. And more evidence that World trade is orienting towards such blocs.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-54949260

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

I’d love to be part of a trading bloc. But the EU isn’t just a trading bloc is it?

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

And that is precisely the point of Brexit. The EU was sold to British voters as “the common market” in 1975 but it was more than that even then. It would be shocking if anyone participating in this discussion were still to be labouring under the illusion that the EU is a trading bloc. It certainly doesn’t describe itself in those terms.

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/100114853.pdf

The term 'Level Playing Field' doesn't appear in the RCEP.
The nearest I can find is what is quoted above.

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

Yeah, that's why India pulled out of the agreement last year. They were concerned about dumping from China

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

Indeed, it's got other functions too.

As countries trade closely together in a trading bloc, it's inevitable that they will become closer so it will be fascinating to watch how these new trading blocs develop compared to the EU and other trading blocs. They may act to demonstrate how a different model can be as successful as the EU has been.

On another note, I'd love a Canada-style deal with...Canada. At the moment, that seems unlikely to happen soon.

---------- Post added at 11:18 ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 ----------

I can see why the absence of a level playing field in the agreement would prevent countries signing up to it. In this instance, I also note that India and China are not on friendly terms due to a border dispute so this is a factor too.
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/10/0...bulent-future/

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

You are fundamentally misunderstanding the whole purpose of the European project, which was to bind France and Germany so tightly together that it would be impossible for either of them to start another war. They always were, and remain, at the heart of something that was never, from day one, supposed to be just a trading bloc. French agriculture and German manufacturing were intended to create a symbiosis between the two countries and the ties were always intended to become political. Inevitably the rest of the continent has been drawn in to this and as long as they understand what they are in and assent to it that’s their business.

If after all the arguing and debating over the EU on this forum and in other places, you still don’t get this basic point, you’re never really going to understand why some of us campaigned against U.K. membership of the EU for decades and why we remain deaf to complaints about short (or even medium term) disruption to our trading patterns. Involvement in the EU isn’t about cheap out-of-season strawberries, tulips from Amsterdam or our ability to export cheese. What it is about is the ability to determine British laws and international treaties in our national interest. This is why fishing rights have become such a massive issue despite their modest economic impact. The right to control who fishes in our exclusive economic zone is a highly visible symbol of our departure from a system that is designed, in the long run, to create a single federal territory.

It is vanishingly unlikely that RCEP or indeed NAFTA or Mercosur will ever get anywhere near the level of integration the EU has today, because that is not the objective of any of those organisations.

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

Well said. :clap::clap::clap::clap:

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

The EU states that it is the "Largest trade block in the world." Of course, it is more than just a trading bloc and no one is pretending otherwise, not the EU or me, certainly. Numerous people have discussed its evolution in this and other threads. People like Pierre and I weighed all this up at the time and decided that it was in the country's best interests to remain.

Re: Brexit-Transitional Period Ends 31/12/20
 

Whilst we agree on its foundation it’s evolved significantly over time and the UK has contributed significantly to it – eg Single Market, State Aid Rules, etc. Seeing it through the lens of a post-war settlement was right once but a more 360 approach is needed in the 21st Century.

I’m not going to speculate on people’s motives for campaigning against EU membership. But to pretend that not being a member results in only short or medium term economic disruption ignores the gravity of trade and the move towards economic blocs. We’re talking about a long-term reduction in our country’s wealth as well as a short-term reduction in the wealth of the country – acknowledged by Dominic Cummings as being more than the entire contributions that the UK has paid into the EU.

By not being in the bloc, our global influence is also weakened, and that’s assuming the UK remains intact and Scotland and Northern Ireland don’t go their respective ways. Brexit plus We might be able to talk about sovereignty, and for sure, we will probably have control of our fishing waters which contribute less than 1% of GDP. I would venture that’s not just modest, but exceedingly modest! But ultimately, the UK will come down to becoming a rule-taker or not taking part in World trade. The lack of trade deals we have been able to sign demonstrates this.

Agreed, which is why I said it will be interesting to see how the new bloc develops over time. It will be helpful to have a comparison to the EU which has hitherto been the largest trading bloc.