Donald Tusk .

[Hindsight]

The balance of trade is very firmly in our favour, so I think you will find there is more in our hand than theirs.

A valid point you make. Therefore following the same logic would you agree the UK is in for a stuffing when it tries to negotiate a free trade agreement with the USA? Askin' for a friend.

 

[ollie989898]

A valid point you make. Therefore following the same logic would you agree the UK is in for a stuffing when it tries to negotiate a free trade agreement with the USA? Askin' for a friend.

In for a stuffing? How?

The UK imports a hell of a lot more stuff from the EU than the reverse. It is a gap that has widened ever year that the UK has been a member. I do not see any benefit of the UK being within EU membership. Oh, I forgot, students can study anywhere across Europe and we can take part in their fudging space program...

 

[Hindsight]

In for a stuffing? How?

The UK imports a hell of a lot more stuff from the EU than the reverse. It is a gap that has widened ever year that the UK has been a member. I do not see any benefit of the UK being within EU membership. Oh, I forgot, students can study anywhere across Europe and we can take part in their fudging space program...

Indeed as I understand the UK does import more from the combined 27 remaining EU member states.

But from what I have read the UK exports considerably more to the USA than it imports. A small bone of possible contention already mentioned by Mr Donald Trump a few times.

The assertion of your original statement was with a similar situation regards balance of trade UK has one over the EU, I just wondered why same was / is not true for the USA over UK.

Had not thought about the students of the space programme.

Your thoughts?

 

[ollie989898]

Indeed as I understand the UK does import more from the combined 27 remaining EU member states.

But from what I have read the UK exports considerably more to the USA than it imports. A small bone of possible contention already mentioned by Mr Donald Trump a few times.

The assertion of your original statement was with a similar situation regards balance of trade UK has one over the EU, I just wondered why same was / is not true for the USA over UK.

Had not thought about the students of the space programme.

Your thoughts?

I do not know much about what the UK exports to the USA. Given the nature of that country it must be a pretty select range of goods, possibly high end or premium type products that are not available in the USA already.

 

[Hindsight]

I do not know much about what the UK exports to the USA. Given the nature of that country it must be a pretty select range of goods, possibly high end or premium type products that are not available in the USA already.

A very cute answer Sir. Perfect avoidance of the question.

You make many assumptions deviating nicely from the original point. You post a few posts back talked of 'the balance of trade' with no reference to specific traded items. My query also referred to general balance of trade. You come back with reference to specific goods.

We will take this no further would just be an endless rally. Time will tell. A politician in the making.

 

[ollie989898]

A very cute answer Sir. Perfect avoidance of the question.

You make many assumptions deviating nicely from the original point. You post a few posts back talked of 'the balance of trade' with no reference to specific traded items. My query also referred to general balance of trade. You come back with reference to specific goods.

We will take this no further would just be an endless rally. Time will tell. A politician in the making.

I don't know what the UK exports to the USA. You stated we did: you provide the proof. I suspect that the stuff we export there is not bacon or family saloon cars so we are hardly raping their domestic markets.

I do know that the balance of trade with the EU is highly one sided and has been for many many years.

 

[Hindsight]

I don't know what the UK exports to the USA. You stated we did: you provide the proof. I suspect that the stuff we export there is not bacon or family saloon cars so we are hardly raping their domestic markets.

I do know that the balance of trade with the EU is highly one sided and has been for many many years.

Nor me too.

From seeing various charts on the BBC and The Times it appears the balance of trade with the USA is 'highly' one sided and has been for many, many years.

Cheers. I will stop now. As I said, time alone will tell and it is all well above me. Have good New Year.

 

[ollie989898]

Nor me too.

From seeing various charts on the BBC and The Times it appears the balance of trade with the USA is 'highly' one sided and has been for many, many years.

Cheers. I will stop now. As I said, time alone will tell and it is all well above me. Have good New Year.

I don't think I see the parallels to be honest. The UK trades with the USA in an informal affair that is not secured by any specific arrangements- (until now) these have been prohibited by our membership of the EU which apparently can negotiate trade deals to suit the UK better than we can ourselves. I thus doubt that the UK is managing to obliterate any industries in the USA given that we do not have preferential access to that marketplace. Perhaps our Scotch and Cheddar cheese sales are so huge Trump has got the hump? I honestly do not know what the UK sells to the Americans, in my experience that country is so large most markets are well supplied domestically. That the UK manages to sell them anything is nearly staggering to me.

 

[bobk]

Nor me too.

From seeing various charts on the BBC and The Times it appears the balance of trade with the USA is 'highly' one sided and has been for many, many years.

Cheers. I will stop now. As I said, time alone will tell and it is all well above me. Have good New Year.

We are limited in what we can sell the US , it's called the EU

 

[nivilla1982]

https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/europe-middle-east/europe/united-kingdom

 

[wanton dwarf]

Nor me too.

From seeing various charts on the BBC and The Times it appears the balance of trade with the USA is 'highly' one sided and has been for many, many years.

Cheers. I will stop now. As I said, time alone will tell and it is all well above me. Have good New Year.

Having seen the post from @nivilla1982 , how do you explain the BBC & The Times being wrong ?

PS Happy New Year.

 

[Hindsight]

https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/europe-middle-east/europe/united-king

Having seen the post from @nivilla1982 , how do you explain the BBC & The Times being wrong ?

PS Happy New Year.

Well blow me, just goes to shall have to keep an open mind on anything reported in The Times or on the BBC website, as so many on here continually say. On a positive note as the document posted by Nivilla from what I can make out says balance of trade is in favour of USA then it should be an easy deal for UK to negotiate when time comes.

Hey ho. Best wishes for New Year. I have just about recovered from Hogmanay.

 

[Hindsight]

Well blow me, just goes to shall have to keep an open mind on anything reported in The Times or on the BBC website, as so many on here continually say. On a positive note as the document posted by Nivilla from what I can make out says balance of trade is in favour of USA then it should be an easy deal for UK to negotiate when time comes.

Hey ho. Best wishes for New Year. I have just about recovered from Hogmanay

 

[Scribus]

You really have a chip on your shoulder, don’t you? You do know that the Germany of today is not the same people as that of the last century, don’t you?

Mmmm... no so sure about that. Sure they won't go down the gas chamber route again and they are careful to be careless in building an efficient military force but they don't really need either to achieve a Prussian empire.

 

[Danllan]

You really have a chip on your shoulder, don’t you? You do know that the Germany of today is not the same people as that of the last century, don’t you?

Hadn't noticed this comment until flagged by @Scribus. It is the same 'people', as in nation, but obviously not the same individuals or, rather, very few of them.

Out of interest, would you agree that there is such a thing as a 'national character'?

 

[Highland Mule]

Hadn't noticed this comment until flagged by @Scribus. It is the same 'people', as in nation, but obviously not the same individuals or, rather, very few of them.

Out of interest, would you agree that there is such a thing as a 'national character'?

Good question, and I suspect that there is, but it’s less strong than it used to be - populations have moved, melted and welded together. You say yourself that your mother(?) was from Scotland, but you also have Welsh and I think English blood in you - you’re not alone in that respect, and on a wider level that would certainly dilute any national character. Interesting that you quote your link to Edinburgh, which is about as non-Scottish a part of Scotland as you can find! (St Andrews excepted, perhaps).

As to Germany - I fully admit it has been many years since I have visited, but my memory was of wartime contrition, as opposed to the opposite in English pubs. The latter worries me more as the source of a new far right party, if I think about it, but neither place worries me too much. The idea of Germans with pencil moustaches goosestepping across France is incredibly far fetched, to me at least.

 

[Scribus]

Good question, and I suspect that there is, but it’s less strong than it used to be - populations have moved, melted and welded together. You say yourself that your mother(?) was from Scotland, but you also have Welsh and I think English blood in you - you’re not alone in that respect, and on a wider level that would certainly dilute any national character. Interesting that you quote your link to Edinburgh, which is about as non-Scottish a part of Scotland as you can find! (St Andrews excepted, perhaps).

As to Germany - I fully admit it has been many years since I have visited, but my memory was of wartime contrition, as opposed to the opposite in English pubs. The latter worries me more as the source of a new far right party, if I think about it, but neither place worries me too much. The idea of Germans with pencil moustaches goosestepping across France is incredibly far fetched, to me at least.

The moving and melting of populations has occurred to a far greater extent in Europe than within the UK. Disease, war and famine causing mass migration has affected continental populations far more than in the British Isles over the centuries and the last two WWs can be seen as a continuation of the theme, just on a larger scale. And yet national charachteristics still survive.

 

[Highland Mule]

The moving and melting of populations has occurred to a far greater extent in Europe than within the UK. Disease, war and famine causing mass migration has affected continental populations far more than in the British Isles over the centuries and the last two WWs can be seen as a continuation of the theme, just on a larger scale. And yet national charachteristics still survive.

They do indeed survive, but I don’t see them thriving to the extent they did in the early part of last century.

 

[Danllan]

Good question, and I suspect that there is, but it’s less strong than it used to be - populations have moved, melted and welded together. You say yourself that your mother(?) was from Scotland, but you also have Welsh and I think English blood in you - you’re not alone in that respect, and on a wider level that would certainly dilute any national character. Interesting that you quote your link to Edinburgh, which is about as non-Scottish a part of Scotland as you can find! (St Andrews excepted, perhaps).

As to Germany - I fully admit it has been many years since I have visited, but my memory was of wartime contrition, as opposed to the opposite in English pubs. The latter worries me more as the source of a new far right party, if I think about it, but neither place worries me too much. The idea of Germans with pencil moustaches goosestepping across France is incredibly far fetched, to me at least.

It seems that you've made a fairly strong case for a British identity...

(I agree in re Edinburgh, but don't tell the SNP!)

 

[Highland Mule]

It seems that you've made a fairly strong case for a British identity...

(I agree in re Edinburgh, but don't tell the SNP!)

Oh, I think that there’s a British identity - but what about our British born, France domiciled, foreign spoused correspondents? What “National” identity do their children have? As travel and relocation becomes easier, all these people will become “European” (as Americans will claim I am) and lose any single national identity.