Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
One might wonder whether the UK, acting alone, might have reached some accommodation with the USA rather sooner, had we been able to. Alas, we are compelled to act within the EU, and at the dawn of 2016 that deal is still "close".
What exactly has the EU been doing, all these years?  |
Putting in all the clauses and amendments and so on in. They start negotiating and then every single business sector weighs in and wants to make changes or ensure their interests are protected. Everything from clothing standards to copyright. This process started in 2013:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transa...nt_Partnership. So three years so far. That isn't too unusual though. The US-Canada-Mexico NAFTA trade deal took about two years and the US and Canada had a pre-existing trade deal.
It's not easy to do despite the Out campaign making it seem like a matter of process. Maybe we could do faster but the would probably mean giving the US every they want.
Again the UK alone will be the weaker party at the table for any deal involving the EU, USA or China.