• Blog
  • About
Menu

The Gripes of Rathe

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
The thoughts of a recovering politico and American Football aficionado

Your Custom Text Here

The Gripes of Rathe

  • Blog
  • About

Wallonia, Canada and why Brexiteers shouldn't be celebrating failed trade deals

October 25, 2016 Ben Rathe

Blink, and you might have missed one of the most important political stories in the last few days.

The Belgian Prime Minister reported to the EU that the country cannot sign up to CETA, the trade deal between the EU and Canada that has been more than seven years in the making, because the region of Wallonia objected to it. I could bore you with the reasons behind their objections, but the practicalities are less important here than the consequences of it.

Many Brexiteers have sought to crow over the failure, citing it as vindication of their long held belief that the UK is simply better off outside the EU, freed from the shackles of Brussels bureaucracy that ensnares trade deals and slows economic progress.

'Small Belgian Wallonia state torpedoes massive new EU-Canada trade deal worth hundreds of billions.' Another day feelin' good about Brexit!

— Henry Smith MP (@HenrySmithMP) October 15, 2016

 

Now don't get me wrong, it is highly embarrassing for the EU that a trade deal that they have been working on for seven years is about to be brought down by a region with a population of just 3.6 million people. And yes, it adds some credence to the argument that expediting trade deals is impossible within the confines of the EU. It strengthens the claim that the UK may well be able to do a trade deal with Canada with more haste, albeit one that doesn't offer access to a market of 550 million people.

But those arguments miss the point.

Brexiteers have long argued, and indeed continue to argue, that the priority for the UK is to complete a trade deal with the EU after triggering Article 50, and then move onto doing further deals with nations, such as Canada over the following years.

But this is the crux.

You cannot do the latter, without first doing the former. Even the most ardent Brexiteer would find it difficult to argue that a trade deal with our single biggest export market was our priority. And doing that deal means negotiating with the tangled EU bureaucracy they so revile. The nature of the deal the UK requires means it will likely require ratification with all 27 member states. That, in turn, means it will need to be approved by, among a laundry list of other bodies, the Wallonian region. And did I mention we have two years to complete this process, not the seven that it took Canada?

So if you're tempted to point and laugh at how incompetent the EU are when it comes to negotiating trade deals; don't. The next one they have to negotiate is with us.

In Politics Tags Brexit
← Sir Ivan Rogers: Why everyone should be concerned by what he reveals.How would Harambe the gorilla do if he was running for President? →

Follow me here:

Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice
  • September 2017
    • Sep 19, 2017 Vince Cable needs to learn a lesson from the Leave campaign Sep 19, 2017
  • March 2017
    • Mar 31, 2017 Does anyone at Twitter actually use Twitter? Mar 31, 2017
  • January 2017
    • Jan 4, 2017 Sir Ivan Rogers: Why everyone should be concerned by what he reveals. Jan 4, 2017
  • October 2016
    • Oct 25, 2016 Wallonia, Canada and why Brexiteers shouldn't be celebrating failed trade deals Oct 25, 2016
  • August 2016
    • Aug 17, 2016 How would Harambe the gorilla do if he was running for President? Aug 17, 2016
    • Aug 2, 2016 Does Clinton have sympathy for the devil? Aug 2, 2016
  • July 2016
    • Jul 7, 2016 The Brexit war is over, so why are Leave still fighting the economic battle? Jul 7, 2016
    • Jul 3, 2016 Four pieces of political commentary you must read Jul 3, 2016
    • Jul 2, 2016 A reminder that Michael Gove doesn't understand averages. Jul 2, 2016
  • June 2016
    • Jun 23, 2016 Why the Leave campaign don't deserve to win this referendum Jun 23, 2016
    • Jun 21, 2016 A great argument for Remain, by Rio Ferdinand Jun 21, 2016
  • May 2016
    • May 25, 2016 I want to buy a house, but I'm not going to crash the economy to do it. May 25, 2016
    • May 17, 2016 Why you shouldn't sleep on Torrey Smith in 2016 May 17, 2016
    • May 11, 2016 Dwayne Allen: 2016 breakout tight end? May 11, 2016
  • April 2016
    • Apr 22, 2016 Call me a cynic, but I don't care about the positive case for the EU. Apr 22, 2016
    • Apr 10, 2016 If the Daily Mail wrote this headline, we'd be outraged. Why is it ok for The Indy? Apr 10, 2016
    • Apr 7, 2016 Downing Street just failed a lesson I learnt when I was 8. Apr 7, 2016
    • Apr 6, 2016 One day, four positions and why I feel sorry for the Prime Minister Apr 6, 2016
  • March 2016
    • Mar 27, 2016 How data is changing the way we fight elections Mar 27, 2016
    • Mar 10, 2016 Why we all need to prepare for Prime Minister Boris Johnson Mar 10, 2016
    • Mar 4, 2016 Ever heard the one about Nick Clegg and the dogging site? Mar 4, 2016
Summary Block
This is example content. Double-click here and select a page to feature its content. Learn more
Featured
Latest Article

Powered by Squarespace