tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3626863533608813994.post4069080542186701955..comments2020-01-03T17:49:06.804-08:00Comments on AmericanTechnocrat: The US Should Sign a UK Free Trade Agreement NowMenloferryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067318911671319926noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3626863533608813994.post-26848823812484858992018-07-31T14:04:46.089-07:002018-07-31T14:04:46.089-07:00Thanks David. Yes, personally I would be very happ...Thanks David. Yes, personally I would be very happy to leave ag out of all FTAs. As you say, the UK wouldn't want its farmers wiped out by American industrial agriculture and each nation is entitled to protect its agriculture for social reasons and/or if it views that industry as an essential part of its national character. I think another area where mainstream economics has gone wrong is in the constant refrain that free trade=more choice. That may be true in some industries, but there are industries where free trade leads to a race to the bottom and near-monopolies that reduce choice. Agriculture is that kind of industry and there are two countries, the US and China, trying to turn food into a least-common-denominator mass consumption industry. Europe should protect itself from that homogenization. I'll paste in links to two articles out today that illustrate the problem. Italian farmers are worried that Canadian competition could hurt their cheese industry. It's not only current incomes but the long-term brand value of brands like parmagiano and gran padova. As another example, here in the US, American cheeses are allowed to call themselves "cheddar". They are bland and usually awful. It's hurt the brand value of the real thing. I suspect that was negotiated in some sort of awful trade deal by some multinationals. On the other hand only real Roquefort can call itself Roquefort over here, and I'm sure that helps maintain the value for the French producers. Americans respect (and pay a lot of money) for Roquefort.<br /><br />Final thought: although I feel strongly about traditional farming and traditional food, I don't think the Trump administration does. As we approach the mid-terms they are going to work hard to try to prise open some foreign markets to throw US farmers a bone. They are even throwing Larry Kudlow into the negotiations, and he is harder to swallow than a pound of American cheddar!<br />Cheers.<br /><br />http://thehill.com/opinion/international/399679-trump-is-right-to-defend-americas-farmers-from-chinese-hegemony<br />https://www.wsj.com/articles/italy-threatens-to-bring-down-eu-canada-free-trade-deal-1532943000<br />Menloferryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05067318911671319926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3626863533608813994.post-30507475365742558942018-07-10T17:22:09.634-07:002018-07-10T17:22:09.634-07:00Coherent and persuasive. Would you be kind enough ...Coherent and persuasive. Would you be kind enough to leave agriculture out of the US/UK FTA? That would deny US farmers a splendid opportunity, but the UK won't ever accept US agricultural standards, nor should it allow its own farming industry to be wiped out by doing so according to your own principles. To follow suit with their own US bilats, the PIGs would have to leave not just the Eurozone but the EU, which even their most anti-Brussels politicians are incapable of contemplating, as the Greeks demonstrated. Otherwise you're on to something as the UK government's attempts to cling to the EU seem doomed.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14253564600234144480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3626863533608813994.post-74065039688865859092018-07-10T13:57:05.723-07:002018-07-10T13:57:05.723-07:00Nicely done, Jeff. Some very interesting ideas wel...Nicely done, Jeff. Some very interesting ideas well worth thinking about. JohnJohn R Hansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10293551867955924834noreply@blogger.com