The UK should look to the US for a trade deal, not the onerous EU
The Americans and the Brits have a good record on trade, so London should look to New York, not Paris, for deals, writes Mervyn King
The eminent economist Bob Solow once said his profession “requires three qualities: faith, hope and clarity; and the greatest of these is clarity”. For the past four years the British view of its future trading relationship with the EU has reflected much more of the first two virtues than the latter. Thankfully, we’re now seeing signs of lucidity. A speech last month by the UK trade negotiator, David Frost, was admirably clear on the subject.
Reasonable people can disagree about whether remaining in or leaving the EU is a good thing, but, as Frost said, there’s little point in giving up the advantages of membership without getting the benefits of leaving. The previous UK government, under Theresa May, started by arguing that a no-deal Brexit was better than a bad deal and ended up by arguing that a bad deal was better than no deal. She was prepared to sacrifice the good things about being an EU member without reaping the dividends of separating...
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