Skip to main content

Swings and roundabouts in US trade talks

The UK government has published its position in trade talks with the United States.  At the outset, it makes clear that the NHS is not on the table, nor what the NHS pays for drugs. 


"The NHS will not be on the table. The price the NHS pays for drugs will not be on the table. The services the NHS provides will not be on the table. The NHS is not, and never will be, for sale to the private sector, whether overseas or domestic. Any agreement will ensure high standards and protections for consumers and workers, and will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards."

This is good news if they stick with those pledges.

The government must resist giving under pressure, and pressure there will be.  The US will want concessions if it is to provide more favourable access to its markets.

It is a market that the UK will increasingly depend upon unless it can strike a good deal with the EU. As with our relationship with the EU, much of the goods imported from the US are used in supply chains vital for British business.  

Thus, the government hopes that reductions in trade barriers will boost those UK industries in this supply chain.

There is no doubt that much could be gained, even if the overall boost to the economy is in the long run relatively small.  The government's own estimate is that it will boost the UK economy by just 0.16%.

This is certainly not a brave new horizon, and many slips could be made in the detail of the negotiations.

What cannot be assumed is that what we may lose from walking away from the EU without a trade deal can easily be compensated by an agreement with the United States.  It is clear from the forecasts in the position statement that this won't be the case even in the best scenario.

The US is the UK's largest trading partner after the EU, accounting for nearly 19% of all exports in 2018 and 11% of imports. The EU accounted for 45% of all exports and 53% of imports.

The government would be foolish to walk away from talks with the EU.  If more time is needed to get the best possible deal with the EU, then that time should be taken.   There is nothing to be gained for the UK economy by trading on WTO terms with the EU.

We can only assume that talk of doing so is merely playing hardball and that sense, in the end, will prevail.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Prioritising people in nursing care.

There has been in recent years concern that care in the NHS has not been sufficiently 'patient centred', or responsive to the needs of the patient on a case basis. It has been felt in care that it as been the patient who has had to adapt to the regime of care, rather than the other way around. Putting patients at the centre of care means being responsive to their needs and supporting them through the process of health care delivery.  Patients should not become identikit sausages in a production line. The nurses body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has responded to this challenge with a revised code of practice reflection get changes in health and social care since the previous code was published in 2008. The Code describes the professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses and midwives. Four themes describe what nurses and midwives are expected to do: prioritise people practise effectively preserve safety, and promote professionalism and trust. The

Half measures on heat pumps

Through the "Heat and Buildings Strategy", the UK government has set out its plan to incentivise people to install low-carbon heating systems in what it calls a simple, fair, and cheap way as they come to replace their old boilers over the coming decade.  New grants of £5,000 will be available from April next year to encourage homeowners to install more efficient, low carbon heating systems – like heat pumps that do not emit carbon when used – through a new £450 million 3-year Boiler Upgrade Scheme. However, it has been widely criticised as inadequate and a strategy without a strategy.  Essentially, it will benefit those who can afford more readily to replace their boiler.   Undoubtedly, the grants will be welcome to those who plan to replace their boilers in the next three years, and it might encourage others to do so, but for too many households, it leaves them between a rock and a hard place.  There are no plans to phase out gas boilers in existing homes.  Yet, that is wha

No real commitment on climate

Actions, they say, speak louder than words.  So, when we look at the UK government's actions, we can only conclude they don't mean what they say about the environment and climate change.  Despite their claims to be leading the charge on reducing emissions, the UK government is still looking to approve new oil fields.  The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson,  has announced his support for developing the Cambo oil field and 16 other climate-destroying oil projects. Cambo is an oil field in the North Sea, west of Shetland. A company called Siccar Point has applied for a permit to drill at least 170 million barrels of oil there. If it's allowed to go ahead, it will result in the emissions equivalent of 18 coal plants running for a year.  What? Yes, 18 coal plants a year!  Today, as I write, Greenpeace is demonstrating in Downing Street against this project.  I suppose it will get the usual government dismissal and complaints about inconveniencing others.  Well, we know it won't