Europe-Am I missing something?

A._Badger

des_cartes wrote: »

Possibly due to Asian companies having a cost advantage due to paying sweatshop wages. A business model that UKIP would presumably want to emulate.

Do you actually know how much Japanese and Korean workers are paid?

No, I thought not.

Procrastinator333

A._Badger wrote: »

I've already given the answer once. How many more times do you need it?

There is no way on earth that German, French and Italian exporters or owners of businesses operating in this country would allow the erection of tariff barriers that threatened their lucrative market here.

I know it, most businessmen know it and if you are, as you claim to be, any sort of accountant, then you ought to know it, too.

First off, I don't think anyone would be sad enough to "claim" to be an accountant if they were not :eek:

Just look what is happening where there are no free trade agreements. The US and China are not far off going toe to toe in a trade war. If it happens that will be disastrous for them both. Yet it may happen. In times of difficulty trading blocks and countries will look inwards. If we were not in the single market, the first thing the others would do in an attempt to boost their own economies would be to try and choke of the exports to the UK and redirect them to the rest of the trading block.

If there is a trade war, the single market is going to be very important in limiting the damage to the UK.

I note you haven't commented on any of the issues regarding trade that I raised - taxation, compliance, statutory requirements and local bias. I also note you didn't elaborate on what you do and your experience of international trade.

ILW

des_cartes wrote: »

Do you think if the UK pulled outof Europe that Germany, France et al would buy more or less from the UK?

I would suggest they would buy what they considered the best value, wherever they came from. eg We currently buy expensive cars from Germany and cheap cars from Korea.

Where I work we sell semi specialist equipment, most of it comes from the USA but is made in Asia. I see no trade barriers there despite not being a member of their political system.
Oddly enough some of the components are made in the UK.

ILW

des_cartes wrote: »

Possibly due to Asian companies having a cost advantage due to paying sweatshop wages. A business model that UKIP would presumably want to emulate.

So one of the main drivers of the EU is to keep wages up?
Seems it bit odd when we are having our wages undercut by Eastern European imported labour due to our EU membership.
Make your mind up.

tomterm8

Really, despite the press, the wage discrepancy between eastern and western europe isn't all that high, compared to the wage discrepancy between us and china. One of the driving motivations behind europe to expand has been to help the development of the east of europe. Whether it has worked, or not, is another matter, but these countries are geographically very close to us, and having third world countries that close to our borders is not really to our advantage.

The underlying plan of Europe is that after three world wars all focused on europe (Napoleonic, WWI and WWII) and the prospect of a fourth with the Crimean war, by encouraging trade and mutual alliances it would prevent a fourth world war.

ILW

tomterm8 wrote: »

Really, despite the press, the wage discrepancy between eastern and western europe isn't all that high, compared to the wage discrepancy between us and china. One of the driving motivations behind europe to expand has been to help the development of the east of europe. Whether it has worked, or not, is another matter, but these countries are geographically very close to us, and having third world countries that close to our borders is not really to our advantage.

The underlying plan of Europe is that after three world wars all focused on europe (Napoleonic, WWI and WWII) and the prospect of a fourth with the Crimean war, by encouraging trade and mutual alliances it would prevent a fourth world war.

So if the main point of the EU is to stop Germany starting another war, why all this cobblers about trade and human rights and types of lightbulbs etc?. Is it all complete BS.

tomterm8

ILW wrote: »

So if the main point of the EU is to stop Germany starting another war, why all this cobblers about trade and human rights and types of lightbulbs etc?. Is it all complete BS.

It wasn't to stop Germany declaring a war on us, Germany had lost. It was to stop Russia declaring a war on us.

Essentially all those other things... cobblers about trade, human rights, and lightbulbs, are methods of creating a 'political and economic' union are about linking europe close enough together that, in the event of the next world war, we would all have go to war together.

Basically, Europe is slowly turning itself into a country, like the United States of America.

ILW

tomterm8 wrote: »

It wasn't to stop Germany declaring a war on us, Germany had lost. It was to stop Russia declaring a war on us.

Essentially all those other things... cobblers about trade, human rights, and lightbulbs, are methods of creating a 'political and economic' union are about linking europe close enough together that, in the event of the next world war, we would all have go to war together.

Basically, Europe is slowly turning itself into a country, like the United States of America.

The Swiss seem to have made a pretty good job of staying out of all the wars and making a pretty good whack out of it. The UK as a moderate sized island should be even better at it.

nearlynew

High taxation, high housing costs, high fuel costs, beurocratic red tape.

Add to that all the money that was wasted driving up house prices which could have been invested in real wealth generating activity.

Is it any wonder we can't compete.

des_cartes

A._Badger wrote: »

Do you actually know how much Japanese and Korean workers are paid?

No, I thought not.

Less than Germany France and the UK and I suspect considerably more than China and India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_wage