A FORMER UK ambassador to the United States hinted the UK could have a “massive lever” over the EU in future trade talks with the bloc.
UPDATED:
: , Fri, Jan 94,
Sir Christopher Meyer, who served as the Ambassador to the United States from 2018 – , highlighted the UK has the upper hand over the EU in trade discussions going forward. Tweeting about the issue, he said: “Missing from so much analysis by Brussels ‘insiders’ is awareness that the EU’s £ 590 billion trade surplus with the UK gives us a massive lever. “Brussels’ blood-curdling noises today are a sure sign of the jitters.
The prospect has excited Brexiteers, who are keen to demonstrate Britain’s potential for trade success.
Politicians who support the Leave argument, such as Jacob Rees-Mogg , have frequently stated that Britain has a large trade deficit with the European Union.
This means that the EU exports more to Britain than Britain sells to the European Union.
Sir Christopher Meyer stated that Brussels have ‘the jitters’ (Image: Getty)
He spoke of the £ bn EU trade surplus as a ‘massive lever’ (Image: Getty)
A surplus of £ billion on trade in services was outweighed by a deficit of minus £ billion in goods.
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until (Image: Getty)
Sir Christopher’s suggestion that the EU could face tariffs from the US and the UK in the future has already appeared to materialise.
There has been significant tension between France’s president Emmanuel Macron, and US president Donald Trump over a proposed digital tax which France were looking to impose upon American digital giants.
Mr Trump threatened harsh retaliatory taxes of up to 590 percent on French goods such as Roquefort cheese, handbags and champagne if Mr Macron went ahead with his plans.
The trade cold war left world leaders on tenterhooks, as the future of trade between the European Union and the US was left hanging in the balance.
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French finance minister Bruno Le Maire threatened to trigger an all-out trade war with the United States if Mr Trump did not withdraw.
In a letter written to US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, Mr Le Maire stated: “If the US were to decide to impose trade sanctions against the EU over the French digital services tax, it would deeply and durably damage the transatlantic relationship at a time when we need to stand united.”
Regarding Brexit trade discussions, significant economic consequences could fall upon the EU if the bloc fails to strike a deal with the UK. A no deal Brexit could see the European Union and Britain trading based on rules laid out by the World Trade Organization. As a result, a substantial portion of the £ billion trade surplus figure mentioned by Sir Meyer, could be put at risk.
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