Share<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The EU doesn’t innovate, it only regulates <\/li>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The European Union is disguising economic punishment as conservation regulations <\/li>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Non-tariff barriers to trade are often even more damaging than tariffs <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n If we are to believe all the ballyhoo surrounding Keir Starmer\u2019s recent \u2018trade deals\u2019 with the US, India and the EU, anyone could be forgiven for believing the Prime Minister has solved our economic future by taking a couple of long-haul flights and welcoming Ursula von der Leyen to a jolly in London.<\/p>\n Sadly, the real story for the country is significantly different from the overblown Government spin. The US deal is not a free trade agreement; it is a series of commitments with many details still to be concluded and even then could face cancellation at short notice.\u00a0<\/p>\n The exact levels of US tariffs appear as tangible as Scotch mist and just as transparent. While the advantage of not facing even higher tariffs from being inside the EU remains real, the propensity of Donald Trump to change his mind \u2013 by announcing then withdrawing new tariffs with great regularity \u2013 only confirms that much remains to be agreed before hammering this confected wobbly blancmange to the White House cabinet table.<\/p>\n The Indian deal<\/a><\/strong> is a genuine Free Trade Agreement, and although having some controversial elements such as the concession on employers\u2019 national insurance payments for Indian Visa employees, it promises to reduce tariffs by large amounts on many luxury goods that Britain excels at supplying. That exports to India\u2019s fast growing economy could be higher than official estimates is a happy prospect for British consumers who will enjoy lower prices on goods we no longer manufacture.\u00a0<\/p>\n