Dean Baker writes:
That is what an article in the Washington Post seemed to imply, as it indicated that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble would have the European Union put up protectionist trade barriers as a way of punishing the United Kingdom if the country voted to leave the European Union. Such barriers would likely prove costly to the people in the European Union....
The article also wrongly refers to the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment (TTIP) pact as a "free-trade" deal. It isn't. With few exceptions, the trade barriers between the U.S. and Europe are already very low and it would not be worth a great deal of time devising a pact to push them to zero. Rather the TTIP is about regulations and investment.
So one must ask, if it is Britain that stands to lose so much from Brexit, why are the Germans so worried about it?
ReplyDeleteAlso, aren't trade barriers generally something that is used to punish a country in lieu of war? I mean, wouldnt the EU imposing such sanctions essentially be a hostile action? Who cares who actually loses out, a threat like this is a threat of economic warfare because Britain doesn't want to be a vassal of the EU. In my eyes, this should be an indicator to the British people just how hostile the EU is to their best interests.