TRADE DEAL WITH THE US WILL NOT BENEFIT THE UK

The newspapers are all full of Donald Trump who is acting like a bull in the international china shop in his first few days in office. But the bit that caught my eye (HERE) was a piece about Pete Navarro who has now been appointed to head the President’s official National Trade Council and Wilbur Ross who is set to become Commerce Secretary.

Last year they published a paper (HERE) which talked about the “Trump Trade Doctrine”.

Here’s how Navarro and Ross describe it on page 17:

Donald Trump has pledged to renegotiate every one of these bad trade deals according to the principles of the Trump Trade Doctrine, i.e., any deal must increase the GDP growth rate, decrease the trade deficit, and strengthen the US manufacturing base.

It will be interesting to see what kind of trade deal we get and how it will help us with our present trade surplus with the US!

On the same topic, the deputy Italian Foreign minister fears (HERE) we and the EU are headed for an economic trade war with countries taking a hard line in the hope of advancing their own economies at the expense of ours. This is not a surprise, I have said several times our compatriots are bound to become competitors. It will soon be dog eat dog.

Update: The Guardian in an editorial (HERE) sums it up neatly:

A collapse of relations with Europe alongside an “America first” trade deal with the US is a nightmare scenario. But Mrs May’s policies have made it a real possibility. MPs who are uncertain which way to vote on article 50 in parliament on Wednesday should get real and vote to stop this madness.

BREXITEERS RUSH TO DISTANCE BREXIT FROM TRUMP

Danial Hannan is the latest brexiteer to claim that Trump's victory in the US and brexit are not at all connected (HERE) when it is obvious they are inextricably linked.

Both were driven by people who are unhappy with their lot but cannot accept it is anything to do with them. Brexiteers blame the EU and immigrants while Trump blamed immigrants, Mexicans, the Chinese and virtually everybody except the people of the USA.

They, like us, have problems but they are all home made and we shouldn't think anyone else is responsible.  This is exactly what happened in Germany in the 1930s. Sooner or later, on both sides of the Atlantic, people will see the solutions are all in their own hands and always were.

Also they think Trump will be good for brexit but others doubt an isolationist can be anything but disastrous for world trade (HERE) and everything else.  Crispin Blunt says it will help in the negotiations because we have the largest armed forces in Europe - as if we would survice 5 minutes against Russia.