Post by account_disabled on Feb 25, 2024 1:58:12 GMT -6
Post-Brexit Britain must fortify itself against rising protectionist forces being driven globally by the race to net zero and growing antipathy towards China, the outgoing head of the UK's independent trade advisory body has warned. Simon Walker, who resigned as chairman of the Trade Remedies Authority this month after three and a half turbulent years in the role, also regretted that Boris Johnson's government had failed to deliver on its promise to champion free trade. He reflected that Johnson had begun his mandate with a swashbuckling speech in Greenwich extolling the UK's prospects as a trading power, but subsequently bowed to political pressure to protect steel producers, giving ministers powers to overturn the findings. of evidence-based ART. Walker said he was “not happy” with the decision, which the government admitted would breach legal obligations under the World Trade Organization, but was comforted by the fact that ministers had been forced to be open and transparent about their decision.
In theory, there was a possibility that Britain would defend free trade, as a matter of principle, in terms of international leadership, and perhaps it was naive to think that it would survive the political storms, but I still think Job Function Email Database there is more of a commitment with it here that there is there [in the US],” Walker told the Financial Times. Walker, former director general of the Institute of Directors, built the TRA after Brexit, when the UK took control of trade defense measures from the European Commission. The TRA is an independent body that advises the government on when to apply tariffs to tackle unfair subsidies and product dumping, and when to apply safeguard measures to protect British producers against a sudden flood of imports. In addition to steel, the TRA's 150-person staff has handled cases covering aluminum, optical fibers and even Turkish ironing boards, which Walker said demonstrated the authority's effectiveness. Walker said the government's decision to overturn TRA advice on steel safeguarding measures had created the impression that ministers would bow to pressure from MPs concerned about keeping their seats rather than upholding free trade principles.
He added that by ignoring the agency's advice, the government had prioritized producers' concerns over the more disparate interests of consumers and smaller businesses whose voices were less heard, but whose rights the TRA was also meant to protect. “I noticed 10 days ago that Godfrey Watt, president of the International Steel Trade Association (ISTA), was saying that it is now clear that it is ministers who will make decisions about steel in the UK, and not a group independent. body,' and you can see why he thinks that,” Walker said. But he added that the UK government was still far from the full-blown protectionism exhibited by the United States, which under former President Donald Trump imposed 1,700 percent tariffs to protect American mattress makers. "I hope that the instincts towards free trade in this government (and that is certainly in a future government, if it is a Starmer government) will be enough to keep us on the right track," he said. But Walker warned that resisting the temptations of protectionism would become more difficult as the race to secure green investments and growing Sinophobia would provide a pretext for protectionism.
In theory, there was a possibility that Britain would defend free trade, as a matter of principle, in terms of international leadership, and perhaps it was naive to think that it would survive the political storms, but I still think Job Function Email Database there is more of a commitment with it here that there is there [in the US],” Walker told the Financial Times. Walker, former director general of the Institute of Directors, built the TRA after Brexit, when the UK took control of trade defense measures from the European Commission. The TRA is an independent body that advises the government on when to apply tariffs to tackle unfair subsidies and product dumping, and when to apply safeguard measures to protect British producers against a sudden flood of imports. In addition to steel, the TRA's 150-person staff has handled cases covering aluminum, optical fibers and even Turkish ironing boards, which Walker said demonstrated the authority's effectiveness. Walker said the government's decision to overturn TRA advice on steel safeguarding measures had created the impression that ministers would bow to pressure from MPs concerned about keeping their seats rather than upholding free trade principles.
He added that by ignoring the agency's advice, the government had prioritized producers' concerns over the more disparate interests of consumers and smaller businesses whose voices were less heard, but whose rights the TRA was also meant to protect. “I noticed 10 days ago that Godfrey Watt, president of the International Steel Trade Association (ISTA), was saying that it is now clear that it is ministers who will make decisions about steel in the UK, and not a group independent. body,' and you can see why he thinks that,” Walker said. But he added that the UK government was still far from the full-blown protectionism exhibited by the United States, which under former President Donald Trump imposed 1,700 percent tariffs to protect American mattress makers. "I hope that the instincts towards free trade in this government (and that is certainly in a future government, if it is a Starmer government) will be enough to keep us on the right track," he said. But Walker warned that resisting the temptations of protectionism would become more difficult as the race to secure green investments and growing Sinophobia would provide a pretext for protectionism.