Britain searches for post-Brexit trading opportunities in South East Asia

 

FILE PHOTO: Newly appointed Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is seen outside Downing Street in London, Britain July 25, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Dominic Raab will travel to Thailand on Wednesday to attend a meeting of 10 South East Asian countries, searching for new trading opportunities and stronger diplomatic ties ahead of Britain's exit from the European Union.

 

Raab, appointed last week as part of new Prime Minister Boris Johnson's pro-Brexit cabinet, will use his first international trip in his post to attend a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Bangkok.

 

"For too long, our trade focus has been on Europe. We need to expand our horizons, and raise our game. That means grasping the enormous global opportunities for the UK," he said in a statement ahead of the trip.

 

"This region is already worth 36 billion pounds ($43.80 billion) per year in trade with the UK - and there are opportunities for us to boost that trade to benefit UK businesses and consumers."

 

Under Johnson, Britain is due to leave the EU on Oct. 31 regardless of whether it has a transition deal to preserve trading arrangments with the bloc. Critics say that would badly disrupt the flow of goods with the EU - its largest trading partner.

 

Advocates of Brexit have long argued that one of the biggest benefits of leaving the EU will be an ability to strike new bilateral trade deals rather than relying on EU-level agreements.

 

The ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

 

(Reporting by William James; editing by Michael Holden)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-31

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free movement of people

wow

sort out the TM 30

A fire salvage auction, they know they have the UK over a barrel do not expect any deal to be on favorable terms to the UK. 

Hahahahhaha

 

The EU just signed the trade agreement with Japan: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47086737

 

I am sure the UK can replace that easily with an agreement between the UK and Myanmar.

I thought Liam Fox had been traveling round the world for 3 years signing up lucrative trade deals everywhere.

 

My Wife can sell them some Som Tam if they want.

What a joke my country has become

6 minutes ago, fishtank said:

I thought Liam Fox had been traveling round the world for 3 years signing up lucrative trade deals everywhere.

 

My Wife can sell them some Som Tam if they want.

What a joke my country has become

We can't sign until we've left. He has been lining up deals though, such as this South Korean one.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/10/uk-south-korea-brexit-trade-deal-asia-eu

 

Looking to SE Asia is a smart move. You don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially if that basket is the EU. Better to be an outward looking, global economy than limiting yourself to a protectionist racket with which you have a 68 Billion trade deficit, and paying through the nose for the privilege.  

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

We can't sign until we've left. He has been lining up deals though, such as this South Korean one.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/10/uk-south-korea-brexit-trade-deal-asia-eu

 

Looking to SE Asia is a smart move. You don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially if that basket is the EU. Better to be an outward looking, global economy than limiting yourself to a protectionist racket with which you have a 68 Billion trade deficit, and paying through the nose for the privilege.  

Having spent much of the past 30 years working in SE Asia for a UK based business, I'm struggling to understand what you are on about. 

 

The  EU has never been a barrier to the UK doing international business, in SE Asia or anywhere else - far from it. 

Having spent much of the past 30 years working in SE Asia for a UK based business, I'm struggling to understand what you are on about. 
 
The  EU has never been a barrier to the UK doing international business, in SE Asia or anywhere else - far from it. 

The EU barrier is to making our own trade deals until after we have left.
Don’t worry about your struggle, because you are usually confused about everything.

21 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

We can't sign until we've left. He has been lining up deals though, such as this South Korean one.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/10/uk-south-korea-brexit-trade-deal-asia-eu

 

Looking to SE Asia is a smart move. You don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially if that basket is the EU. Better to be an outward looking, global economy than limiting yourself to a protectionist racket with which you have a 68 Billion trade deficit, and paying through the nose for the privilege.  

 

Lol.

 

because the EU has a trade deal with Korea since a long time: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=1991

 

Why would you need 2 .... 

 

oh i guess because you like worse deals...The EU has faaar more leverage than the UK alone to get trade deals.

 

Quote

However, critics warn that the deals may not cover as much trade as existing arrangements and are incomplete.

 

 

You have a trade deficit because you are not a producing nation, your economy is service based and centered around london.

None of that will changed after leaving. You are still producing the same stuff...

15 minutes ago, Loiner said:

The EU barrier is to making our own trade deals until after we have left.
Don’t worry about your struggle, because you are usually confused about everything.

Do you really think that the UK will be able to get better deals than the EU?

20 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Having spent much of the past 30 years working in SE Asia for a UK based business, I'm struggling to understand what you are on about. 

 

The  EU has never been a barrier to the UK doing international business, in SE Asia or anywhere else - far from it. 

I've been working in manufacturing here for over 12 years and we do a lot of business to the UK, and whilst our regulatory department might disagree with your last statement (not to mention there are many countries that the EU does not have trade deals with so you could consider that a barrier to the UK trading with them) it wasn't really my point. Since you confess to struggling to keep up again, I will try again.

 

I was explaining that we cannot do independent trade deals with other countries until we've left the EU, so complaining that we haven't done one yet when we don't leave until October is not really a valid criticism.

 

Once we've left, I was explaining that we can do what we want and sign deals like the one lined up with South Korea. A deal with SE Asia would be hugely advantageous therefore Dominic Raab's visit is most welcome, a sensible and encouraging course of action. Things seem to be gathering pace under Johnson, more action in less than 2 weeks than we saw in 3 years of May's cowardly reign. I realize these developments must be an affront to the doom and gloom you like to peddle, but don't let it cloud your judgement.

 

Foreign Secretary goes East to seize economic opportunities of South East Asia

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

I've been working in manufacturing here for over 12 years and we do a lot of business to the UK, and whilst our regulatory department might disagree with your last statement (not to mention there are many countries that the EU does not have trade deals with so you could consider that a barrier to the UK trading with them) it wasn't really my point. Since you confess to struggling to keep up again, I will try again.

 

I was explaining that we cannot do independent trade deals with other countries until we've left the EU, so complaining that we haven't done one yet when we don't leave until October is not really a valid criticism.

 

Once we've left, I was explaining that we can do what we want and sign deals like the one lined up with South Korea. A deal with SE Asia would be hugely advantageous therefore Dominic Raab's visit is most welcome, a sensible and encouraging course of action. Things seem to be gathering pace under Johnson, more action in less than 2 weeks than we saw in 3 years of May's cowardly reign. I realize these developments must be an affront to the doom and gloom you like to peddle, but don't let it cloud your judgement.

 

These are not developments, they are, figuratively speaking, 'birds in the bush'.

 

14 minutes ago, damascase said:

Do you really think that the UK will be able to get better deals than the EU?

You mean with countries like the USA? Since the EU does not have a proper trade deal with the USA then it's not really going to be tough to beat, is it?

 

How about the EU's trade deal with China? Tough to beat? 

 

Of course, who cares about small economies like USA and China?

 

10 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

These are not developments, they are, figuratively speaking, 'birds in the bush'.

 

Of course they are developments.

 

But for the 3rd time now, we cannot have a 'bird in the hand' until we've left. We haven't left yet, therefore we cannot sign a trade deal yet. I don't know how to put it any more simply than that.

 

41 minutes ago, evadgib said:

Foreign Secretary goes East to seize economic opportunities of South East Asia

Undoubtedly a far better headline, but it doesn't work as well for those promoting remain.....

3 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

Undoubtedly a far better headline, but it doesn't work as well for those promoting remain.....

That's why I post a 'horses mouth' version wherever possible ????

We could trade the eastern European hookers for the newer Asian ones it may/would bolster things up and rally the pound and would for sure get the Bo Jo seal of approval????

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

You mean with countries like the USA? Since the EU does not have a proper trade deal with the USA then it's not really going to be tough to beat, is it?

 

How about the EU's trade deal with China? Tough to beat? 

 

Of course, who cares about small economies like USA and China?

 

 

What kind of leverage do you think you got against those 2?

 

I can tell you which side that kind of deal will favour.

 

The EU and USA and their TTIP agreement - ever heard of? And do you know why europe cancled it? We don't know what kind of effect it would have had but there are many economist that think it would have been a horrible deal for the EU and it got skrewed for now.

 

What kind of trade deal do u want with china? Do u want to lower their custom duty so they can swamp your market with chinese crap like they did with solar panels in the past? What can you offer them even? Free banking in London so chinese can get their money out of there?

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

You mean with countries like the USA? Since the EU does not have a proper trade deal with the USA then it's not really going to be tough to beat, is it?

 

How about the EU's trade deal with China? Tough to beat? 

 

Of course, who cares about small economies like USA and China?

 

Good luck with a ‘America First’ deal!

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

Of course they are developments.

 

But for the 3rd time now, we cannot have a 'bird in the hand' until we've left. We haven't left yet, therefore we cannot sign a trade deal yet. I don't know how to put it any more simply than that.

 

The 'Bird in the hand' is the rafts of trade deals the UK has access to as a member of the EU.

 

I don't know how to put it more simply than that. 

 

 

 

Good luck with the US trade deal:

 

We'll block trade deal if Brexit imperils open Irish border, say US politicians

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/31/brexit-mess-with-good-friday-and-well-block-uk-trade-deal-us-politicians-warn?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

 

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UK foreign minister Raab meeting with former democratic leader Abhisit and former classmate of Boris Johnson

abhisit.jfif

4 hours ago, JonnyF said:

We can't sign until we've left. He has been lining up deals though, such as this South Korean one.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/10/uk-south-korea-brexit-trade-deal-asia-eu

 

Looking to SE Asia is a smart move. You don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially if that basket is the EU. Better to be an outward looking, global economy than limiting yourself to a protectionist racket with which you have a 68 Billion trade deficit, and paying through the nose for the privilege.  

I just wonder what the UK can offer to the South Koreans in terms if products? Its a one way deal for the South Koreans into the UK but not the UK into South Korea.

 

Here are the top 10 brands in the UK.

 

1. Chicken Tikka Masala:, 2. Aston Martin:, 3. Hotpoint tumble dryer:, 4. Marmite:, 5. Cavendish Pianos:, 6. Guillotine:, 7. Cadbury’s Dairy Milk:, 8. Henry the Vacuum Cleaner:, 9. Dr Martens shoes:, 10. David Shilling’s Ascot Hats:

 

against the likes of Samsung, Hyandai, SK Holdings, LG Electronics, KIA Motors, Hanwha etc

 

A free trade agreement brings the UK nothing even after Brexit because the UK has nothing to offer more except a service industry and the finance sector

 

2 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

 

What kind of leverage do you think you got against those 2?

 

I can tell you which side that kind of deal will favour.

 

The EU and USA and their TTIP agreement - ever heard of? And do you know why europe cancled it? We don't know what kind of effect it would have had but there are many economist that think it would have been a horrible deal for the EU and it got skrewed for now.

 

What kind of trade deal do u want with china? Do u want to lower their custom duty so they can swamp your market with chinese crap like they did with solar panels in the past? What can you offer them even? Free banking in London so chinese can get their money out of there?

Tweed jackets and quality umbrellas, world beaters

2 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The 'Bird in the hand' is the rafts of trade deals the UK has access to as a member of the EU.

 

I don't know how to put it more simply than that. 

 

 

 

A very unappreciated aspect of the UK being in the EU has been that its products and goods are part of the EU's global supply chain. Supply chains are complex long term economic vehicles that cannot be instantly duplicated (ie., replace trade agreements by changing EU with UK) and some in a nature that cannot be duplicated where the UK has limited manufacturing capability. Invariably, UK companies that have been meshed into the EU supply chain matrix may find they have no place in a UK single nation chainless point of origin for their own products and either close down or leave the UK for the EU.

4 hours ago, fishtank said:

I thought Liam Fox had been traveling round the world for 3 years signing up lucrative trade deals everywhere.

 

My Wife can sell them some Som Tam if they want.

What a joke my country has become

Agree, embarrassing to admit we came from the UK these days.

3 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

We could trade the eastern European hookers for the newer Asian ones it may/would bolster things up and rally the pound and would for sure get the Bo Jo seal of approval????

So long as they don't mind a good slapping from him that is ????

You mean with countries like the USA? Since the EU does not have a proper trade deal with the USA then it's not really going to be tough to beat, is it?
 
How about the EU's trade deal with China? Tough to beat? 
 
Of course, who cares about small economies like USA and China?
 

Yeah piece of cake just like getting a deal, Brexeteers and unicorns.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/31/brexit-mess-with-good-friday-and-well-block-uk-trade-deal-us-politicians-warn?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other




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Good idea. 

I think Papua New Guinea would be suitable or other similar important countries.

Boris is really an expert (of nothing)