Comments by "Taint ABird" (@taintabird23) on "Britain talks post-Brexit trade with the EU" video.
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@oreooreo5622 The WTO is becoming dysfunctional, and of course for any sensible country, WTO is merely a safety net, a waiting area ahead of a trade deal. Countries across the world are either strengthening existing trade blocs, creating them or negotiating trade deals.
The Swiss are years ahead of the UK, and everyone else for that matter. The EU will soon catch up with Switzerland and surpass it with the value of its trade deals by virtue of its size. Since you checked two years ago the EU signed a the largest ever trade deal with Japan, for example, an economy much larger than that of the UK. The Swiss have the advantage of being politically neutral and politically stable, and it will be interesting to see how the UK deals with the constitutional reckoning that Brexit will bring in the years ahead. The Swiss also benefit from a trade deal with the EU - which Brexiters like to claim they don't need - because they understand that trading with your neighbours makes sound economic sense.
The UK is a small fish. It will be much smaller when it leaves the EU. Remember too, that those who voted for Brexit are the ones who will lose most because of it, while it will make the rich even richer. Brexit has been championed by the political class responsible for the austerity that led to so many voting against their own interests. Unlike the British, the Swiss have used their comparative wealth well, and are ranked second in the UN Human Development Index, 13 places above the UK who have a larger economy. They are also considerably more productive than the UK, which has the lowest productivity in the OECD. It will be interesting to see how the UK tackles these disparities, which it will need to do, if Brexit is to be worth it for the ordinary people.
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