Walterp
Member
- Location
- Pembrokeshire
Everyone knows the beauty of the Big Lie is its simplicity.
Like, for instance, that if the UK leaves the EU it could act as an ordinary WTO member.
The truth is more complicated. The UK isn’t a member of the WTO at present, in its own right; unpicking its association via the EU and its web of trade agreements is an adjustment that requires negotiation with its membership.
All 162 members. Yep, that’s right, 162. Every single one of which has a say. And a veto, because it only takes one objection to hold up the talks because the WTO operates by consensus, not voting - one reason why WTO negotiations take so long.
To put it politely, “recent negotiating experience suggests that willingness to accommodate each other’s interests quickly is a scarce commodity in the WTO and even a final agreement cannot be guaranteed“. [Peter Ungphakorn, former WTO Secretariat].
Re-establishing the UK’s WTO status in its own right means both the UK and the EU would negotiate simultaneously with the rest of the WTO’s members to extract their separate membership terms; the EU is bigger and more important, so they will get priority. Sorry about that, but it's the hard truth.
The UK will have to negotiate with the EU itself, the US, China, Russia, India, Brazil, and any trading nation or group of nations that matters, large or small, rich or poor. It would only take one objection to hold up the talks.
You can weigh this up for yourself, but it’s a lie that the UK can become an independent WTO member simply and quickly.
Like, for instance, that if the UK leaves the EU it could act as an ordinary WTO member.
The truth is more complicated. The UK isn’t a member of the WTO at present, in its own right; unpicking its association via the EU and its web of trade agreements is an adjustment that requires negotiation with its membership.
All 162 members. Yep, that’s right, 162. Every single one of which has a say. And a veto, because it only takes one objection to hold up the talks because the WTO operates by consensus, not voting - one reason why WTO negotiations take so long.
To put it politely, “recent negotiating experience suggests that willingness to accommodate each other’s interests quickly is a scarce commodity in the WTO and even a final agreement cannot be guaranteed“. [Peter Ungphakorn, former WTO Secretariat].
Re-establishing the UK’s WTO status in its own right means both the UK and the EU would negotiate simultaneously with the rest of the WTO’s members to extract their separate membership terms; the EU is bigger and more important, so they will get priority. Sorry about that, but it's the hard truth.
The UK will have to negotiate with the EU itself, the US, China, Russia, India, Brazil, and any trading nation or group of nations that matters, large or small, rich or poor. It would only take one objection to hold up the talks.
You can weigh this up for yourself, but it’s a lie that the UK can become an independent WTO member simply and quickly.