UK begins USA Free Trade Talks...

[keithisco]

I suppose it comes as no surprise that as the UK begins free-trade talks with the worlds largest economy, the BBC drags up an old debate from the failed TTIP talks between the EU and the USA:
 

Quote

 

Liam Fox has downplayed talk that a future US-UK trade deal after Brexit could be threatened by disagreements over chlorinated chicken imports.

The international trade secretary said the issue of whether the current UK ban on chlorine-washed poultry would be lifted was "a detail of the very end stage of one sector" of future talks.

The EU bans imports on health grounds but free market groups want a rethink.

 

Towards the end of the article there is this:
 

Quote

 

The Adam Smith Institute said there was no evidence that eating chlorinated chicken in moderation posed any risk to human health.

In a report published on Monday, it said lifting restrictions would be good for hard-pressed consumers as a kilo of chicken was 21% cheaper in the US than its UK equivalent.

"Trade critics like to suggest that signing a deal with the USA will mean that Brits will be forced to eat unsafe produce," said its author Peter Spence.

"In reality, chlorinated chicken is so harmless that even the EU's own scientific advisers have declared that it is "of no safety concern."

 

Source: BBC

The second bolded part suggests that the EU really bans imported US chicken for Protectionist reasons not Health reasons-I would also point out the ongoing scandal around horsemeat and even condemned meat finding its way into the EU supply chain from Eastern EU abattoirs which really DOES pose a health risk

So BBC, how about taking a positive development for what it is and not immediately manufacture some unfounded outrage because you demean all of the hard investigative journalism that some at the BBC are renowned and respected for

[stevewinn]

Good News, lets hope we can sign a good few deals if not a FTA even a limited one with the US.

With the EU officially estimating that 90% of all future growth will be outside of the EU, Dr Liam Fox as a lot of opportunities and work ahead. 23 countries now in the queue for trade talks with the UK. talking of queues remember Obama's back of the queue speech? well we must have jumped the queue with the News trade talks are being explored today. 

• Other goods news, 17% increase in employment - London's square mile. (financial)
• Overall rate of Employment at all time high. (unemployment at all time low)
• UK remains number one destination for foreign investment in Europe.
• Latest Global Financial Centre index has London at #1. The highest ranked Eurozone city is Frankfurt at #23 is that the same Frankfurt that'll be stealing all our jobs! or Paris #29
• UK economy growth forecast. 1.7% in 2017 (IMF) beating both France 1.5% and Italy 1.3%. and just 0.1% behind Germany 1.8%: and the Guardian makes us "sick man of Europe". Bizarre. 

 

 

 

[A rather obscure Bassoon]

1 hour ago, stevewinn said:

Good News, lets hope we can sign a good few deals if not a FTA even a limited one with the US.

With the EU officially estimating that 90% of all future growth will be outside of the EU, Dr Liam Fox as a lot of opportunities and work ahead. 23 countries now in the queue for trade talks with the UK. talking of queues remember Obama's back of the queue speech? well we must have jumped the queue with the News trade talks are being explored today. 

• Other goods news, 17% increase in employment - London's square mile. (financial)
• Overall rate of Employment at all time high. (unemployment at all time low)
• UK remains number one destination for foreign investment in Europe.
• Latest Global Financial Centre index has London at #1. The highest ranked Eurozone city is Frankfurt at #23 is that the same Frankfurt that'll be stealing all our jobs! or Paris #29
• UK economy growth forecast. 1.7% in 2017 (IMF) beating both France 1.5% and Italy 1.3%. and just 0.1% behind Germany 1.8%: and the Guardian makes us "sick man of Europe". Bizarre. 

 

 

 

More IMFscaremongering even though their Brexit forecast was disastrously wrong.

[stevewinn]

Just now, A rather obscure Bassoon said:

More IMFscaremongering even though their Brexit forecast was disastrously wrong.

that is very true.

[Imaginarynumber1]

3 hours ago, keithisco said:

I suppose it comes as no surprise that as the UK begins free-trade talks with the worlds largest economy, the BBC drags up an old debate from the failed TTIP talks between the EU and the USA:
 

Towards the end of the article there is this:
 

Source: BBC

The second bolded part suggests that the EU really bans imported US chicken for Protectionist reasons not Health reasons-I would also point out the ongoing scandal around horsemeat and even condemned meat finding its way into the EU supply chain from Eastern EU abattoirs which really DOES pose a health risk

So BBC, how about taking a positive development for what it is and not immediately manufacture some unfounded outrage because you demean all of the hard investigative journalism that some at the BBC are renowned and respected for

Mmmm... horsemeat

[toast]

Quote

In a report published on Monday, it said lifting restrictions would be good for hard-pressed consumers as a kilo of chicken was 21% cheaper in the US than its UK equivalent. "Trade critics like to suggest that signing a deal with the USA will mean that Brits will be forced to eat unsafe produce," said its author Peter Spence."In reality, chlorinated chicken is so harmless that even the EU's own scientific advisers have declared that it is "of no safety concern."

I dont want to eat chicken from the US for various reasons. First, if these chicken are so much cheaper than in the EU, including costs for logistics, the question must be asked with what kind of #hit these chicken get fed. 2nd, its nonsens from an ecological point of view. Fresh food like meat and vegetables should be purchased from local production to reduce carbon emmisions, to support the local markets and the domestic GNP.

[Gromdor]

6 hours ago, toast said:

I dont want to eat chicken from the US for various reasons. First, if these chicken are so much cheaper than in the EU, including costs for logistics, the question must be asked with what kind of #hit these chicken get fed. 2nd, its nonsens from an ecological point of view. Fresh food like meat and vegetables should be purchased from local production to reduce carbon emmisions, to support the local markets and the domestic GNP.

You don't want to eat a chicken grown here in Iowa, plucked and slaughtered and then shipped a few thousand miles via boat?  Even if it is cheaper?  

 

It's suppossed to be "America first!" not "Great Briton first!" 

No more nonsense about local chicken growers losing their jobs/market!

[stevewinn]

15 hours ago, toast said:

I dont want to eat chicken from the US for various reasons. First, if these chicken are so much cheaper than in the EU, including costs for logistics, the question must be asked with what kind of #hit these chicken get fed. 2nd, its nonsens from an ecological point of view. Fresh food like meat and vegetables should be purchased from local production to reduce carbon emmisions, to support the local markets and the domestic GNP.

You make some excellent points,

On the point of Chicken, mileage, cost,  there is a frozen food supermarket over here called Farmfoods, i bought a bag of "American style" chicken breasts, just looked and taste like KFC, 10 breasts for £1.80 very cheap. they tasted so good i thought I'll get more of these, but on reading the back of the packet it said produced in Malaysia. - even though they taste nice and was cheap i thought what sort of standards are these chickens living under, slaughtered under and processed under, all the little EU, EEC standards where on the packaging. but how the hell can food be so cheaply produced. especially when it was shipped from the other side of the world 4,000 to 6,000 miles.

 

[Gromdor]

6 minutes ago, stevewinn said:

You make some excellent points,

On the point of Chicken, mileage, cost,  there is a frozen food supermarket over here called Farmfoods, i bought a bag of "American style" chicken breasts, just looked and taste like KFC, 10 breasts for £1.80 very cheap. they tasted so good i thought I'll get more of these, but on reading the back of the packet it said produced in Malaysia. - even though they taste nice and was cheap i thought what sort of standards are these chickens living under, slaughtered under and processed under, all the little EU, EEC standards where on the packaging. but how the hell can food be so cheaply produced. especially when it was shipped from the other side of the world 4,000 to 6,000 miles.

 

Growth hormones to accelerate hatching to market time, cheaper feed, and probably injections to plump up the meat and make it tastier.

 We do that to turkeys here in the states.  Cheap labor there too, but here it takes maybe 11 or so people to raise a few million chickens in a series of buildings. 

All of that meets regulations, too.

 We passed a law here in Iowa making it illegal for animal activists to film livestock conditions.  That seems to have settled a lot of the "living conditions" complaints.

[toast]

17 hours ago, stevewinn said:

On the point of Chicken, mileage, cost,  there is a frozen food supermarket over here called Farmfoods, i bought a bag of "American style" chicken breasts, just looked and taste like KFC, 10 breasts for £1.80 very cheap. they tasted so good i thought I'll get more of these, but on reading the back of the packet it said produced in Malaysia. - even though they taste nice and was cheap i thought what sort of standards are these chickens living under, slaughtered under and processed under, all the little EU, EEC standards where on the packaging. but how the hell can food be so cheaply produced. especially when it was shipped from the other side of the world 4,000 to 6,000 miles.

And there is an additional catch22. I think its an EU law, I`m not sure, but this law is still valid here in Germany and maybe in the UK as well. For packed raw/unprocessed meat (cattle, pig, poultry, sheep, goat) it must be mentioned on the package in which country the animal was born and slaughtered. In case the meat is processed somehow, like breadcrumb coated and/or marinated, this regulation isnt valid anymore and the manufacturers have to name the country of origin of the product only, means, where it has been processed and packed finally. So, in your "chicken case", its possible that the chicken came from Poland, the bread crumbs from Brazil, the spices from India, the eggs from Russia and all items were shipped to Malysia, got processed and packed there and shipped to the UK to be sold for £1.80/10units. Enjoy your meal.

 

[stevewinn]

On 7/24/2017 at 8:02 PM, stevewinn said:

Good News, lets hope we can sign a good few deals if not a FTA even a limited one with the US.

With the EU officially estimating that 90% of all future growth will be outside of the EU, Dr Liam Fox as a lot of opportunities and work ahead. 23 countries now in the queue for trade talks with the UK. talking of queues remember Obama's back of the queue speech? well we must have jumped the queue with the News trade talks are being explored today. 

• Other goods news, 17% increase in employment - London's square mile. (financial)
• Overall rate of Employment at all time high. (unemployment at all time low)
• UK remains number one destination for foreign investment in Europe.
• Latest Global Financial Centre index has London at #1. The highest ranked Eurozone city is Frankfurt at #23 is that the same Frankfurt that'll be stealing all our jobs! or Paris #29
• UK economy growth forecast. 1.7% in 2017 (IMF) beating both France 1.5% and Italy 1.3%. and just 0.1% behind Germany 1.8%: and the Guardian makes us "sick man of Europe". Bizarre. 

 

 

 

quoting myself, to add : -

• BMW have announced that the new electric model of the iconic Mini will be manufactured in the UK, and not in Germany. The car will be built at the firm’s Cowley plant, near Oxford. Business Secretary Greg Clark said the move was a sign that the UK is now “the go-to place in the world for the next generation of vehicles“ (to be built 2019/20. the year we leave the EU. what do BMW know that others don't) 
• CBI Quarterly Trends survey, a long-standing survey of 397 blue-chip manufacturers which shows the state of Britain PLC. This quarter is astounding when you remember the predictions of economic disaster rolled out by George Osborne last year.
• UK economy grew by modest 0.3% in Q2, according to ONS. Slight pick-up from Q1 and in line with expectations. (That's continued growth since the Brexit vote, We where told of a recession if we voted leave, 300,000 jobs would go, economic collapse etc.. etc reality is somewhat different)

CBI: -

• 32% of manufacturers said employee numbers with headcount increasing at the fastest rate for three years and hiring intentions for the coming quarter also improved.
• Expectations for growth in export orders improved to a four-decade high.
• Export optimism is strong, 43% of firms said the volume of output over the past three months was up – the highest since January 1995.
• 35% of businesses reported an increase in total orders.
• Domestic orders were up +19%, with export orders growth remaining strong at +17%.
• Alongside robust expectations for demand, firms accumulated raw materials at the fastest pace in forty years and stocks of work-in-progress expanded at a record rate. Strong confidence levels saw stock building of raw materials (+20%) which was the strongest since April 1977 (+22%), whilst stocks of work-in-progress rose (+16%).