Brexit’s impact on the UK’s cycling industry is once again under the spotlight after FLi Distribution’s director blamed the “red tape and barriers to trade” currently affecting businesses as the Huddersfield-based distributor ceased trading with immediate effect.
FLi – which began life in 2008 as FLi Race Team Management, before transitioning to distribution – was known for supplying KTM bikes to the UK for over a decade, a relationship which ended in April this year.
The distributor notified dealers and suppliers of its decision to cease trading earlier this month, with director Colin Williams citing the impact of Brexit, the complexities and restrictions surrounding UK and EU trading, and the difficulties facing the bike industry in the post-Covid lockdown period as the main reasons behind FLi’s demise.
> The rising price of cycling — why are bikes more expensive and how is the industry coping?
Confirming the news, Williams posted on LinkedIn: “That’s it, FLi is done. Thank you to everyone who’s supported FLi over the past 15-plus years… it would not have been possible without all of you who’ve helped out in thousands of ways, making 99 percent of my time running FLi so much fun. So if you’ve helped in any way, thank you, it’s been a great ride.
“But if you voted for Brexit, please realise this is 90 percent because of your decision back in 2016. I have no idea what will be next, but as the people close to me know, whatever it is, it’ll be better than the last 18 months.
“I’m done fighting, I’m done with the red tape and the barriers to trade. It hadn’t been fun for some time, so the time was right to end it now, life is too short. The relief now the decision is made is amazing, but I am so sorry for any negative impacts it will have on anyone and I’m doing my best to resolve any and all of them where I can.”
Earlier this year, Williams told the road.cc Podcast that the bottom line of companies in the UK bike industry is being squeezed like never before, thanks to the supply chain and manufacturing disruption brought on by the pandemic, as well as the impact of Brexit on trade.
He explained that because many brands service the European market through distribution operations within the EU, this means that typically products will arrive in the UK from the bloc – adding on not just administrative burdens but also costs for distributors and retailers here.
> Bike industry turmoil continues as UK cycle distributor 2pure enters administration
Those additional costs have had a crippling effect on the UK’s cycling distributors, with FLi the latest in a growing line of distribution companies to cease trading this year alone.
In May, Livingston-based distributor 2pure entered administration, just months after the company announced that it was restructuring to focus solely on the cycling industry, following what it described as a “highly volatile” 2022 caused by macro-economic events in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
And in March, Moore Large, the leading UK distributor for well-known brands such as Tern Bicycles, Lake, Forme, ETC, Emmelle, and MeThree, entered liquidation, leading to its £35 million product inventory being auctioned off.
> Forme bikes and Lake cycling shoes distributor enters liquidation
Formed from the bike shop opened by John Moore in 1947, the Derby-based distributor was founded 30 years later and owned by the Moore family up until last year when, following growth since the pandemic, the board’s directors bought ownership from the family.
Dale Vanderplank, Adam Garner, Adam Biggs, and Andrew Walker acquired the business on 19 April 2022, with retiring chairman Nigel Moore at the time saying that the “last few years have been particularly successful and it is now the right time for me to hand over the company to the existing management team”.
However, four months ago the company confirmed its closure, adding to an increasingly bleak time for a UK cycle industry beset by inflation, changing consumer habits, overstock, and a challenging economic climate.
153 thoughts on ““If you voted for Brexit, please realise this is 90% because of your decision”: UK cycle distributor FLi ceases trading”
**** Brexit and **** every
**** Brexit and **** every ignorant **** who voted for it!
Well done Legin. Possibly
Well done Legin. Possibly literacy standards should be looked at as well nationally. Lovely considerate annd socially minded reply. Reminds me of the selfish littel 10 year old who had a melt down today because his foot ball team lost. Despite being over manned with the supposed “stars” .
Realistically I doubt this will be any great loss. No idea when I last saw a KTM bike if ever. We have plenty of choice anyway.
*little
*little
*football
*overmanned
*meltdown
*and
Agree with you on literacy standards.
mattsccm wrote:
Your standard of written English is appalling. Apart from that fact what is written is utter garbage. Brexit has irreparably damaged the economy of this country and still some of the people who voted for it attempt to defend it.
Now toddle off and wave your flag!
Legin wrote:
Made in China no doubt. Wrapping yourself in the flag, like both the Tory and slightly less Tories are doing at the moment is pathetic.
Time to apply to rejoin the EU, bring back freedom of movement, join the Euro and take back control of our country from rightwing morons.
essexian wrote:
amen to all that. If the EU will have us of course. A tiny, insignificant island badly in need of friends.
By the way, a Tory vote is one in favour of your life being shorter and probably more painful.
It astounds me that people believed (and a few continue to believe) actors who simply do not have their best interests at heart.
But we got our country back
But we got our country back innit?
At least this would appear to
At least this would appear to be an orderly winding down of a business compared to the others, which is a great credit to the management/ owners.
It’s what The Country voted
It’s what The Country voted for. All of it. Every blade of grass. Not even close.
dOn’T yOu BeLiEvE iN dEmOcRaCy??!?!
Yes – where is it?
Yes – where is it?
I’m liking this different
I’m liking this different form of pedantry from swldxer.
WING MIRRORS
WING MIRRORS
*retires to safe distance*
*standing next to you
*standing next to you
WD-40 – great lubricant
road bike disc brakes – weight, complexity and expense anyone?
Metro brochure from 1980.
Metro brochure from 1980.
swldxer wrote:
Not too sure what your point is. Are you for democratically taken decisions, or against? Or does that depend on whether you agree with the outcome? As to the two legislatures you highlight – what’s the relevance? Neither of them took the decision.
If you want a decision on
If you want a decision on leaving the EU, you don’t ask Alf and Doris down the whelk stall at Clacton who hate foreigners, because they have no clue as shown here. Best leave these things to people who know what they are talking about, not racist thickos.
We should probably just strip
We should probably just strip all working class people of the vote.
They simply don’t understand what’s good for them.
Surprisingly the “record”
Surprisingly the “record” wage growth was generated by lots of stikes and even the raises from most of those was still less then the cost of living.
The trend is pretty clear
The trend is pretty clear prior to Ukraine.
A tighter labour market has led to increasing real wages.
We had a long period of below inflation wage rises between 2008 and 2014, that was probably the biggest single cause of Brexit IMHO.
Could you post the same graph
Could you post the same graph, but showing real (i.e. relative to inflation) rather than nominal wage growth please?
It’s a bit misleading otherwise, as people might think that 2% wage growth in 2015 when inflation was basically zero was worse than 8% in 2022 with 10% inflation.
I’m sure it’s a simple mistake rather than dishonestly trumpeting half a story in the hope fiscally-unaware readers/voters will be taken in. The corrected graph would look nice on the side of a bus.
Certainly.
Certainly.
Barring the statistical quirks of 2020 we’ve have good real wage growth up until the effects of Ukraine.
Prior to 2016 we’d had a long period of negative real wage growth.
Rich_cb wrote:
Not really, no https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64970708
Your own link shows real
Your own link shows real wages rising post referendum and falling before it.
Always a great sign that
Always a great sign that everything’s going well – see Germany, 1923.
Rich_cb wrote:
. (already been done, sorry)
Inflation much?
Inflation much?
The same demographic that
The same demographic that voted Brexit would also vote for the death penalty — do you believe in hanging innocent people? Stefan Kiszko, Barry George, Birmingham Six, Timothy Evans, George Kelly, Mahmood Hussein Mattan, Derek Bentley, George Thatcher, Andrew Evans, Liam Holden, Stephen Downing, Judith Ward, Guildford Four and Maguire Seven, Terry Pinfold, Harry MacKenney, Robert Brown, Paul Blackburn, Bridgewater Four, Sean Hodgson, Winston Silcott, Michael Shirley, Danny McNamee, Cardiff Newsagent Three, Cardiff Three, M25 Three, Christy Walsh, Eddie Gilfoyle, Sally Clark, Donna Anthony, Victor Nealon, Siôn Jenkins, Angela Cannings, Barri White, Suzanne Holdsworth, Sam Hallam, Ched Evans, Oval Four – all were wrongly convicted and some were hanged, despite being innocent
Kelly, Mattan and Bentley –
Kelly, Mattan and Bentley – of “Let Him Have It” fame – (as examples) were all hanged, but were later found to have been wrongly convicted and there have always been doubts raised about Hanratty hanged in 1960 for the “A6 murder”.
It’s a serious subject and your post could be clearer that most cases listed post-date hanging, effectively abolished in 1965 in this country.
Wrongly convicted is not the only reason to abhor state-sponsored / judicial execution, of course.
But as with all things Brexit, those baying for it don’t mean for themselves, or anyone they know (see: corporal punishment in schools, farming, fishing).
You can tell you’re getting
You can tell you’re getting desperate when you resort to that sort of nonsense.
‘If you believe X then you must believe Y’ and we all know Y is bad.
I think you might have peaked with the wing mirror stuff.
The same people who voted
The same people who voted Brexit show why referenda are a bad idea.
A new poll by Omnisis has revealed that six in ten Brits back Tory Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson’s call to bring back the death penalty.
Mr Anderson said he would back the return of the death penalty during an interview with The Spectator magazine, saying “nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed”.
A majority of 58% of voters agreed with the controversial Ashfield MP, with only 28% saying it is not appropriate. Of those who supported the return of capital punishment, 71% were aged 55-64 years old whilst the 25-34-year-old bracket was least in favour on 51%
Still just as stupid a point
Still just as stupid a point as the first time you made it.
If you think improving
If you think improving democracy in the UK is a good thing then we could do worse than follow the Swiss example as they always rank much higher than us in lists of the most free, democratic countries. They have regular referendums, local goverment has considerable devolved decision-making power and of particular interest to us, vehicle registrations are searchable and can provide a name and address.
NOtotheEU wrote:
I’ve always found that a bit creepy to be honest, surely a stalker’s charter?
Rendel Harris wrote:
I always assumed that drivers know they can be easily traced and drive accordingly.
NOtotheEU wrote:
Drivers can easily be traced in any system with numberplates by the appropriate authorities; I struggle to see a positive in the public being able to find one’s name and address from one’s numberplate. Do you want that big angry bloke who believes you cut him up or scratched his paintwork turning up on your doorstep for a discussion about it? My main concern would be for vulnerable people, particularly lone women: any bad actor who takes a fancy to a woman would simply have to follow her until she got into her car and they would have her name and home address, surely undesirable?
Switzerland does have an enviable road safety record, it’s true, second only to Norway in Europe, I believe, but that’s much more to do with excellent infrastructure and more rigorous policing than the numberplate regulations.
In no way sympathising with
In no way sympathising with drivers, it’s quite bad enough that DVLA makes information to any cowboy outfit calling itself a parking company – their business practices are pretty Wild West at times, and their information governance doesn’t fill me with confidence either.
I’ve wondered the same things
I’ve wondered the same things myself but somehow they seem to be happy with it and make it work. Maybe we are thinking how it would most likely be abused here in the UK and Swiss society is just more civil or law abiding or the authorities are incredibly strict when it is abused? I honestly don’t know.
swldxer wrote:
Ah, of course, mustn’t let the plebs participate in a plebiscite.
We elect MPs to debate and
We elect MPs to debate and decide major issues, not the great unwashed.
The same demographic that
The same demographic that voted Brexit would also vote for the death penalty — do you believe in hanging innocent people?
swldxer wrote:
And finally, Adolf Hitler?
swldxer wrote:
Well, that would depend on what they were innocent of. In some political schemes, it’s a crime not to persecute and kill (often in an awful way) “the enemeis of the people”. Those innocent of such a crime (e.g. those who worked in Adolf’s camps to fulfill the requirements of Adolf-law) were later deemed worthy of hanging. Many were.
“Innocent” and “guilty” …. of what laws set by whom to demand what actions of those subject to those laws? The terms are relative.
Myself, I don’t care for draconian punishments, not even our current prison system, which seems both cruel & ineffective, to say the least. But this is an emotional response from a lucky boomer. I can imagine being subject to various kinds of awful happening that would sweep away this emotion in favour of another in about 10 seconds.
********
The trick is to attempt to be “objective” and “rational” by asking what the full range of outcomes of a policy would be. As we are human, this is an impossible trick.
PS See how I pleased Mr (or perhaps Ms) Trike by bringing Herr Hitler into the matter!
PPS I hasten to add that I nivver voted for that mad Brexit, although I confess to voting not to join with Europe in the 70s referendum. But that was only because I’d been disappointed by a French girlfriend of the time. I was young(ish) and very emotional in them days!
Cugel wrote:
As good a reason as many.
If we offend Alf and Doris
If we offend Alf and Doris and – like the bankers and car manufacturers – they leave for better opportunites elsewhere, where will we get our whelks? (I must admit I’m not tempted by them but the proverbial phrase “like a lioness robbed of her whelks” suggests some are fiercely attached to them. EDIT – perhaps that’s what they’re after in Berlin?).
Also – some selective categorisation there. Where is the breakdown by “number of squirrels owned” as a for-instance?
The Brexit vote map is a
The Brexit vote map is a picture of isolation and deprivation – of boomers in bungalows whose local pub keeps closing down
Plenty of deprivation north
Plenty of deprivation and isolation north of the border. Or indeed in London, parts of Wales… But the above could have been “colour in the UK, mostly blue, but make Scotland and London yellow”.
Where are my Brexit benefits?
Where are my Brexit benefits?
Didn’t you get your blue
Didn’t you get your blue passport yet?
What else do you want??
You can have a slightly more
You can have a slightly more powerful vacuum cleaner. Yes, that was worth throwing away our political and economic strength for. Oh, and the mega rich can continue tax dodging.
OldRidgeback wrote:
PSA – just got back from the doctor’s and the Dyson Ball Cleaner has a misleading name
Still difficult to believe
Still difficult to believe that folk thought UK politicians on their own could do a better job than when moderated by the European concensus.
levestane wrote:
I must admit I never expected the UK population would be daft enough to elect BJ, since he has been in charge things have gone downhill fast and nobody since has shown any signs of being able to fix it!
Moderated? With continued EU
Moderated? With continued EU expansion our bill was going up but our actual influence was going down! Then there’s the corrupt way the EU Commission gets its own way, for example passing a bill that the minority of MEPs voted for. This was due to a voting error, they corrected the voting record but kept the bill anyway. It stinks.
Just off out on my bike to
Just off out on my bike to get some more popcorn.
Completely off topic, but in
Completely off topic, but in the car the other day, I saw in the mirror a driver approaching at a bit more than the speed limit. Immediately looked down at the dash to see their approach speed. Oh… no radar !
Thank goodness there is
Thank goodness there is nothing to indicate which way I voted . . . . ?
You plumped for Ukraine?
You plumped for Ukraine?
I’ve never been able to
I’ve never been able to get excited about it since it peaked in 1981 when a teenage me watched the disappearing skirts of Bucks Fizz, although Wogan made it watchable of course.
#brexthick
#brexthick
Wasn’t just racists that
Wasn’t just racists that voted Brexit.
####’s did also!
joe9090 wrote:
Any of my fellow Brexit voters who voted that way because they are racist must be deluded. The old immigration system prioritised immigration from majority white countries and actively discouraged immigration from majority non white or pre colonisation non white countries.
Hopefully we will eventually get an immigration system that provides a safe legal route for asylum seekers, stops illegal migration and prioritises migration from countries we have historically had close links with like the Commonwealth. It seems strange that while we were in the EU people from Commonwealth countries who’s ancestors died in their thousands helping us fight a white racist regime were denied entry while the ancestors of said regime could come and go as they pleased.
We’d better stop the free
We’d better stop the free movement of people within the United Kingdom and between the U.K. and Republic of Ireland then. And while we’re at it also pressure Australia and New Zealand to stop their free movement. Don’t want to be racist do we! I mean it’s literally nothing to do with Geography is it?
The British government purposely changed immigration law in the 60’s to stop the free movement of mainly non white Commonwealth citizens into the U.K. but yeah EU free movement is racist. We could have had EU free movement AND Commonwealth free movement if we so wished.
We stopped free movement of
We stopped free movement of British citizens (non white) then a few years later embraced free movement of other nations citizens (white). I can’t see a single thing that’s racist about that situation. Free movement of both would not have been racist I agree but that’s not what happened.
This quote is from a mildly pro remain article about Brexit & our colonial past by the rapper Akala;
Europeans who spoke entirely different languages, came from countries that Britain had in living memory gone to war with, had been prioritised for citizenship over people whose land, labour and resources literally built the country.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/battle-of-britishness-in-age-of-brexit-akala-talks-to-convention/
Very interesting and well worth a look. As a white working class Brexit supporter I found it quite a challenging read.
All very interesting but I’m
All very interesting but I’m struggling with your logic. So free movement amongst European countries is bad (majority white) but free movement amongst the Union of the U.K. nations themselves and these nations and Ireland is not bad (majority white) (as is Aus/Nz free movement) Is the new U.K./Aus youth mobility deal also bad? (majority white)
And now we’ve got rid of the hated EU free movement we can introduce Commonwealth free movement to right the perceived historical wrongs. How do you think that would go down with your average Brexiteer? Mm let me think.
Some brexiters (big brain Dan Hannan for example) have championed CANZUK free movement but have been oddly silent on Commonwealth free movement, why do think that might be?
I’m not against the concept
I’m not against the concept of free movement of people in an agreed area, I’m against race being the deciding factor especially when the group that were stopped were not even immigrants but British citizens who’s countrymen had just been killed in their thousands to free the very Europe they were now banned from and the same Europe that colonised, raped and pillaged their countries years before. I think including ROI/UK deal is neither here nor there as both countries agreed to keep the free movement that was there pre independence and the citizens of both countries seem very satisfied with the deal, unless you know something I don’t? I’m unaware of the AUS/NZ deals so I can’t comment.
You haven’t answered my
You haven’t answered my questions re how free movement of Commonwealth countries citizens would be received by Brexiteers if it were proposed now. With open arms right? And what about CANZUK free movement? What about an African area of free movement that would discriminate White europeans (and others). Free movement is also one of the key goals for Africa’s Agenda 2063.
While in the Schengen area non EU nationals are able to take advantage of that particular perk to travel freely around Europe for a few months, although of course the U.K. decided we didn’t want to be a part of that sort of nonsense while members did we! Oh no! What, give foreigners the ability to come and go across our precious border! Good God no!
In regards Australia/Nz free movement it’s quite simple, it’s highly similar to the EU free movement that you so despise.
And to be clear the only area of free movement you’re against is the EU one because of something to do with a British decision to not continue Commonwealth movement to the U.K. ? That just seems massively incoherent
RDaneel wrote:
I suspect it would not be popular, especially with any racist Brexiteers. This was my original point which I don’t think I’ve explained very well. Racist people obviously didn’t realise how our old immigration system was stacked against non white countries so I believe they should have voted remain.
I never stated I was for or against any area of free movement. I said “I’m not against the concept of free movement of people in an agreed area, I’m against race being the deciding factor”. If that is incoherent then I apologise.
okay so..free movement areas
okay so..free movement areas
New Zealand- Australia, geographically close.
UK -Ireland, geographically close.
Proposed African free movement – geographically close
Eu free movement – based on race only.
Where is your idea that the EU set up was soley based on race come from while my other examples are not?
RDaneel wrote:
Sorry, I’m clearly doing a terrible job explaining myself.
1. My problem is with the UK, not the EU. Our immigration system was fair (ish) then it was racist, now it can be fair again if we want it to be.
2. Brexit supporting racists thought they were voting for a ‘whiter’ immigration policy but we had one already.
Nothing more, nothing less. No comment on the EU, Africa, NZ/AUS or ROI/UK. No wish to insult or berate anyone who voted differently to me. No particular wish to argue with anyone (which is why I try to resist the urge to post on EU matters), just my opinion.
NOtotheEU wrote:
I almost lost the will to live on this one to be honest! ? And if I’m being totally honest I’m still not sure your position but hey this has gone on far longer than either of us needs lol
Have a good evening (Knee bloke can still Fck off though ?)
Thanks, you too (the good
Thanks, you too (the good evening, not the other).
NOtotheEU wrote:
user name much?
David9694 wrote:
I’m aware of the triggering nature of the user name so I thought posting this was poking a little fun at myself;
Given that 95% of the posters here seem to be pro EU I usually leave these discussions alone but sometimes I can’t resist giving you all the benefit of my wisdom, or spouting a complete load of cobblers depending on your viewpoint. I’m good with either.
Another Brexiter trivialising
Another Brexiter trivialising and making light of the devastating effect their choice is having and will have on people’s livelihoods and futures.
Brexit – a vote to make your
Brexit – a vote to make your life poorer, smaller, more dangerous.,
The lockdowns did that to us!
The lockdowns did that to us!
Came for the bikes, stayed
Came for the bikes, stayed for the politics.
Mass car ownership and Brexit
Mass car ownership and Brexit have much in common – both are set up on and are sustained by a mix of bullshit, bullying/ playing on people’s fears, and lies.
Multiple lies of this type were told in the campaign for the referendum; it’s not just the loss of all that we had up in the EU I rail against, it is the massive populist right-wing coup that was pulled off in plain sight. All of that is highly relevant to promoting cycling and the safety (from drivers often high on this rhetoric) of cyclists. The advisory referendum was translated into the “will of the people” by an obliging right-wing press – now here we all are.
Brexiters are very keen on democracy, as are we all when it’s going their/our way. Having studied and even worked in (local) politics a lot of my life, I never had a UK government weaselling out of holding the next General Election on my bingo card. But in the bad old days of Cummings and Johnson, (remember the proroguing of Parliament defeated by a High Court case?) it was on my radar. These people are not about government for the people.
Finally, Trump was the perfect conduit from capitalism to the downtrodden – “those liberals don’t understand you, they look down on you: I get you, follow me, I am on your side”, capped-off with “make America great again” – the type of rallying cry requiring no elaboration or quantifying – take from it whatever you want to hear rather like Brexit which is whatever we say it is. There’s plenty of pictures of UK political figures cozying up to him at the time and the influence (back to the referendum voting map) of this was as palpable as it was ugly.
Having read the article it’s
Having read the article it’s clear the issues aren’t just down to Brexit. The lockdowns that were put in place across Europe were in the most part ridiculous. The fact we allowed our politicians to do this to our economies was a huge mistake. There was for example no evidence of the virus spreading outdoors but exercise was curtailed or banned. (I intend to make my feelings known about this to the covid enquiry). Professor Tim Spector of the Zoe covid symptom study (epidemiologist) doesn’t believe lockdowns work. I don’t doubt that trade with the EU is difficult but so was trade outside the EU before. We couldn’t make separate trade agreements. I do feel sorry for this guy though, especially if he thinks it’s all because of Brexit.
It wasn’t that we couldn’t
It wasn’t that we couldn’t make separate trade agreements but that we didn’t have to make them because, being part of the largest free trade block, we had far greater collective clout to get the very best terms as part of the EU. There’s a reason that the USA isn’t prioritising a UK deal, we’re just too small a market on our own. Whatever the politics, and economics is just the obverse of the political coin, you can’t escape geography.
A country can’t do full trade
A country can’t do full trade deals as part of the EU.
France, for example, couldn’t sign a tariff free deal with China as once goods were in France they’d be able to enter any part of the EU without further checks thus rendering the customs union a bit moot.
The UK is a largely service based economy, EU trade deals predominantly favour goods so whilst they would benefit the UK they aren’t anywhere near as beneficial as trade deals which play to the strengths of our economy.
The UK is still one of the biggest economies in the world, 5th or 6th depending on which method you use.
The idea that the 6th biggest economy on the planet is too small to bother with is patently absurd.
‘Patently absurd’? If it were
‘Patently absurd’? If it were the US would be all over a UK trade deal like a rash. And I know that we ‘couldn’t’ negotiate separate trade deals, we shared that power with our partners in the EU. Why? Because collective EU deals were better deals for the UK. The EU has 448 million citizens, the UK has just under 68 million. It doesn’t matter which way you slice the economic pie, the EU slice is always going to be larger. And being the World’s butler isn’t anyway to run an economy, it merely puts the nation and our politicians in the pocket of kleptocrats & multinationals. Just look at the bribe, sorry ‘incentives’, we’re having to fork out to have an electric car battery plant built in Somerset!
Trade deals aren’t just about
Trade deals aren’t just about the economics.
If they were the US and China would have signed a blockbuster deal years ago.
The current political leadership in Washington isn’t interested in a trade deal with the UK. They are however pursuing trade agreements with India which has an economy almost the exact same size as the UK’s.
Everybody is offering incentives to battery plants right now, ours are actually less generous than the US and on a par with the EU’s.
As I said before a deal that focuses on goods is never going to benefit the UK economy as much as a deal focused on services. EU trade deals predominantly cover goods so predominantly benefit other countries.
EU trade deals favour goods
EU trade deals favour goods because many EU nations were sensible enough to nurture their manufacturing sectors while the UK Gov’t threw ours under the economic bus of sado-monetarism. That’s not to say that the French and Germans for example lack international financial centres, bankers in Paris and Frankfurt no doubt rubbed their hands with glee at the prospect of the City of London’s influence being curtailed. The US favours a trade deal with India because it’s a market with vast growth potential having a population of over a billion as well as India acting as something of a bulwark against China, we’re neither of those things. They may even ride more bikes in India than we do here in dear old Blighty.
So EU deals aren’t
So EU deals aren’t necessarily in our best interests.
We are one of the world leaders in services, why stay in a trading bloc that doesn’t prioritise our strengths in trade negotiations?
I agree that India has vast potential, so too do many of the developing countries in the CPTPP. The UK is in fairly advanced talks with India about a FTA so hopefully we’ll be able to finalise that soon.
How many new (or amended) U.K
How many new (or amended) U.K. specific services agreements have we done since leaving. It’s very important so it must have been a priority to get as many done as possible I assume? You may want to roll them over but re-negotiate them tout suite right? I mean we could’ve just been Norway or Switzerland as per Nige Farage’s hearty endorsement. Best of all worlds.
Lots of renegotiations and
Lots of renegotiations and new negotiations going on.
We have a new service specific trade agreement with Singapore.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9314/
Considering how important
Considering how important Services are to the U.K. economy that to be frank is a pretty pathetic list of new/renegotiations of the terrible not fit for the U.K. EU deals. It’s also notable that we became a Services Super power and 5th largest economy while in the EU.
How many simultaneous trade
How many simultaneous trade negotiations do you actually want?
The India deal has the potential to be transformative, it was apparently very close to being signed last autumn so hopefully the remaining differences can be thrashed out soon.
Loyal Brexiters must be
Loyal Brexiters must be getting something out of it. Spite, a twisted revenge on a world in which they have been disappointed, a super right-wing ideology (same things really). There’s nothing materially better in our lives for Brexit, is there – spite on the world is all that remains and all it ever was.
We are now negotiating
We are now negotiating independent trade deals.
There hasn’t been a ‘blockbuster’ deal yet but the India negotiations have massive potential.
Personally I think we should be going much further with cutting tariffs independently but things are getting better from a free trade perspective.
I’m sure that nothing I say will change your mind however.
We’ve lost the ability to easily import Taiwanese made bicycles from, um, France which is obviously a disaster. I can’t think where we could possibly import them from instead.
So tell me a Brexit benefit.
So tell me a Brexit benefit. Can you?
Independent trade deals and
Independent trade deals and tariff setting.
So you can’t tell me anything
So you can’t tell me anything in life that is better for Brexit? So all that remains is spite.
You asked for a benefit.
You asked for a benefit.
I gave you a benefit.
If you want to actually have a discussion we can, if you just want to repeat yourself incessantly I’ll leave you to it.
So are those “benefits” worth
So are those “benefits” worth all that we are losing?
HANNAN is going to argue “not Brexitey enough” presumably, somewhere behind the paywall?
Believe more, sacrifice more.
You’re now arguing that the
You’re now arguing that the contents of an article that you haven’t actually read somehow back you up?
Quote from the article:
“It is true, too, that the EU, which has made similar mistakes to ours, is also on the slide, so that we do well enough when we measure ourselves against France, Germany or Spain.”
So the Brexit “benefits” you
So the Brexit “benefits” you mentioned – Worth it?
All I’m seeing is a value-less deal to import sub-standard Australian meat; what happened to the deal with the USA? How long is all this going to take?
In my opinion, yes.
In my opinion, yes.
Rich_cb wrote:
Using up many people’s time and money that could be used for something more productive if we had stayed in the EU. UK is negotiating from a position of relative weakness, regardless of the size of the economy.
And this stuff about the UK economy benefitting from services rather than goods is bullshit – the state of supermarket shelves and food prices demonstrate some of the difficulties faced in importing and distributing food. Food is a good, not a ‘service’. As are clothes, cars and everything else being transported into/out of and around the country.
You have continually refused to acknowledge the massive ongoing headache for everybody in the food supply chain due to Brexit. And it is acknowledged that these supposedly wonderful trade deals you so admire are shafting UK producers and undermining UK food security, among other things. But I’m sure that hard facts like thise will not change your mind.
Is food price inflation any
Has food price inflation been any better for EU countries? It would seem that for a lot of countries in the EU food price inflation was far worse last year. How on earth can that be true if it’s all because of Brexit?
79% of the UK economy is services. You might not believe it but it’s a “hard fact”.
And in exactly the same
And in exactly the same article on the BBC (which appropriately enough addresses a government minister cherrypicking the figures to make the same claims as you), directly above the chart you have chosen to share is a chart which demonstrates that over the course of the year the UK had the highest food inflation in Europe.
Criticises cherry picking.
Criticises cherry picking. Cherry picks.
Roll the dates back by 2 months and it would look entirely different.
The fact is that over most of last year food price inflation was far higher in many EU countries than in the UK. I didn’t hear many people saying it was because of Brexit then. A couple of months when the reverse is true and all of a sudden…
Rich_cb wrote:
Are you actually attempting to deny that on average for the year April 2022 to April 2023, the UK had the highest food price inflation in Europe? No obfuscation or yes buts, is that a fact or not?
That is a fact. It’s also a
That is a fact. It’s also a fact that the average Feb to Feb would have been very different.
UK food price inflation was below EU averages for most (all?) of 2022.
UK food price inflation has been above EU averages for the last few months.
If the recent differences are down to Brexit then why were price rises lower in 2022?
Rich_cb wrote:
Actually no it wouldn’t be “very different” February to February, if you look at the chart which you chose the UK’s inflation curves largely mirrors the other countries, just from a lower starting point, until theirs starts to drop and ours goes on rising. Oh and just for your enlightentment, the Feb 22-Feb 23 food inflation rate for the UK was 18%, 1% lower than April-April, so that’s a strange definition of “very different.”
https://foodfoundation.org.uk/news/food-prices-tracker-april-2023
If the UK rate is
If the UK rate is consistently lower then the EU rate for 2022 then the average will also be lower.
That was my point.
Brexit replaced inflation,
Brexit replaced inflation, which has completely disappeared from their minds. Kind of like how Putin invading Ukraine got rid of Covid.
Rich_cb wrote:
First the big potential of the USA trade deal then India, sigh.
We’re a service based economy, tariffs (which are generally low anyway) are not the major issue, NTB’s are.
So Cube, Canyon, Ridely, Commencal, Giant etc etc are going to set up Warehousing in the U.K. and import directly are they? And we haven’t even put in full import controls from the EU yet so it ain’t gonna get any easier.
Why wouldn’t they set up
Why wouldn’t they set up separate warehousing here?
The market is easily big enough to support it for most of those brands. The first one to do so will instantly get a 10%+ price advantage against their competitors.
If the Freeports ever get up and running they could set up the whole European warehouses here and ship to both areas without worrying about double tariffs.
India negotiations are ongoing and the recent TATA deal must surely help get it closer to the finish line.
Agree re NTB, hence digital trade deal with Singapore.
Rich_cb wrote:
It won’t be as high as 10% as the majority of bikes are likely to be bought in in such a way as to be less than that. Because of that they then need to be built up, not just stored. Having 2 units doing that is more costly and Iess efficient.
Also we have a zero tarrif zero quota deal with the EU so it’s a moot point in relation to Freeport’s. Cube are not going to bring in their 200,000 (?) bikes to the U.K. to ship to the EU, those pesky NTB’s again! U.K. specific hub warehousing , maybe.
And compared to the EU our bike market is small (and if the recent distributor and retailer struggles are anything to go by not growing).
Matthew Lynn is just speculating about the India trade deal.
We only have a zero tariff
We only have a zero tariff agreement for items actually manufactured in the UK/EU.
If a bike is manufactured outside those areas, as most bikes are, then importing it to the EU then re-exporting it to the UK can lead to paying tariffs twice. Hence the 10% cost saving for a UK based warehouse.
The UK market is smaller than the EU but you’d assume a lot bigger than countries like Australia which, presumably, have dedicated warehouses.
A Freeport also solves the ‘double tariff’ issue as no tariff is paid until the item leaves the Freeport for its final destination.
It’s public knowledge that another round of UK-India trade talks took place recently, whilst it is speculation to say the TATA deal will help it’s quite a reasonable assumption.
Rich_cb wrote:
Okay so let’s assume a U.K. freeport based assembly/warehouse will pay tariffs into the EU when they export the 100,000’s of bikes every year. In that case with a freeport set up that only makes sense if bikes can use tariff inversion which in my limited experience is not the case. My understanding is you will also have to pay a U.K. tariff if you sell to a U.K. retailer as it has now crossed the freeport border into the U.K. Again unless you have tariff inversion why bother?
Of course Australia, US have separate warehousing, they’re geographically further enough away to make that a sensible thing to do.
India FTA and TATA? I don’t believe it is a reasonable assumption at all.
Ah Freeports – the entities
Ah Freeports – the entities that make real life out of the hitherto dark fantasies of Gotham City and Sin City.
At present you pay tariffs
At present you pay tariffs when you import the product to the EU. If you then want to export the product to the UK you pay the tariff again. The same occurs the other way around too.
If you import to a freeport, where it is warehoused, you pay no tariff. When you export the product to either the UK or EU you pay the tariff.
With a Freeport there is only one tariff paid whereas with a UK or EU warehouse there is the potential for some products to incur tariffs twice.
Personally I think we should just scrap import tariffs completely on products we don’t actually manufacture, like most bikes, and then the problem disappears.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on the TATA thing, no way to prove it either way.
Tariff inversion is a thing with bikes, they just have to use a certain proportion of UK/EU made components to benefit. Many manufacturers now offer bikes specifically built to benefit from this.
So like Rail privatisation,
So like Rail privatisation, Brexit only works when we don’t do it.
I’m sure that made sense in
I’m sure that made sense in your head.
I am curious that you defend
I am curious that you defend it. What do you get from Brexit?
I’m a believer in free trade
I’m a believer in free trade and the removal of protectionism.
Brexit gives us the opportunity make progress in both of those areas.
So to facilitate frictionless
So to facilitate frictionless trade with our near neighbours, by any logic you’d be in favour of the CU and SM? Or does it not work that way? Still not sure what problem we had that Brexit is meant to have solved.
The EU is a highly
The EU is a highly protectionist organisation.
High external tariffs on many products mean that consumers pay higher prices.
We should take the opportunity to remove many tariffs and benefit from the lower prices and increased standard of living.
Rich_cb wrote:
Any idea when we’re going to reap that tangible benefit of Brexit?
hawkinspeter wrote:
Any idea when we’re going to reap that tangible benefit of Brexit?— Rich_cb
Presumably if (I haven’t checked overall numbers) more people are migrating to the UK that means it’s more “free” (we can get all the workers we want – cheaper labour, the consumer wins!) so that’s a benefit?
I’m unqualified to opine on this one though (perhaps we need an accountant) as I think “free trade” is the imaginary Platonic ideal / economist’s fiction at the end of a series of “more / less limits or taxes” continuums – including those relating to movement of people / labour. AFAIK even in places with “few restrictions / taxes” there are always a collection of both, just different ones. (Perhaps zero “taxes” but you have to make donations to a middleman and/or enable the Prince’s sons’ university aspirations.)
I’m not noticing the stuff I
I’m not noticing the stuff I buy getting cheaper. I can’t buy from Rose bikes in Germany and others like Hollandbike or Bike-Discount.de I get charged a load of import duties. Not helpful if you’re trying to set up a Dynamo light system.
let’s take an old standby of mine the Shimano 105 GS RD – my memory is getting these for around £30 – I’ve bought a few over the past 10 years. My last purchase is below at £40. Deda basic coloured bar tape used to be £5.
The going rate for this item is now £50 – sure, I can go £46.75 at Tweeks if I shop around and probably incur a bunch of postage costs from individual suppliers for the bits needed for a build. Shouldn’t this have come down in price?
Please do tell me about inflation – another Brexit consequence. Lucky for you in terms of interest rates, I’m a saver, not a borrower now.
https://www.tweekscycles.com/shimano-105-rd-5701-10-speed-rear-derailleur-245012/
10s cassette €25, but €20 delivery.
https://www.bike-discount.de/en/shimano-105-cs-5700-10-speed-cassette
or £46 from Merlin
https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-105-5700-10-speed-cassette-49206.html?utm_source=PHG&source=PHG&utm_medium=Affiliates&utm_campaign=genieshopping
If your sole argument is about tariffs and prices, it ain’t working for me.
Where are my Brexit benefits?
We can, IMHO, go much further
We can, IMHO, go much further in cutting tariffs than we have already but it has started and bike frames and components have been some of the beneficiaries so far.
https://cyclingindustry.news/budgets-tariffs-alterations-go-further-than-frames/
The rules regarding VAT on low value items are entirely separate to Brexit and would have increased a lot of component prices regardless.
That must have made sense in
That must have made sense in your head. I’ll ask again: Where are my Brexit benefits?
A lot of those who voted for Brexit, the ones that aren’t frothing bigots, thought (Lord knows how) that Brexit would make things better for them. It hasn’t: you can’t describe any instance where it has. So what keeps you in the game?
As all the boomers who voted for it gradually die off, I hope the young take back the future that was stolen from them.
You complained about the
You complained about the price of bicycle parts.
I showed you that tariffs on some bicycle parts and frames are being eliminated.
We now have the ability to unilaterally reduce tariffs and have used that power to reduce the costs of bicycles and some components.
Now maybe you only buy 105 derailleurs and will never benefit from these reductions but many other cyclists will.
I’ll leave you to your melodrama now.
Rich_cb wrote:
another Brexiter disappearing into a puff of patronising words, unable to explain anything about their choice on any level.
I didn’t request the change
I didn’t request the change (like the majority of people in Scotland) but “on we get with it” now. At least, not until after Scottish independence – and I don’t see that exactly steaming over the horizon. I suspect that would likely be coming quicker than any reverse of Brexit South of the border though!
However – it does look at bit like on one side “still no benefits” vs. on the other “ah, but we’ve made changes which could benefit us … but also other things have changed which explain any negatives”.
“Things just happening” is only going to increase with distance from the divorce, so I doubt there’s any likelihood that those on either side will conceed that the other was right about the economics of it!
I have no idea – I doubt there will be a net benefit but as stated the argument will never end. I’d be more sympathetic to other people’s view (not that of the elites…) if they’d said that they would even be happy to be poorer because they would feel more free without some rules being set in Brussels. I didn’t hear that argument particularly though.
You can lead a horse to water
You can lead a horse to water…
I’ve explained that I’m in favour of lower tariffs and freer trade than is offered by EU membership.
I’ve given cycling specific examples of how things have improved in that regard since Brexit.
The fact you can’t understand simple explanations with examples is something I can’t help with unfortunately.
“Something, something..
“Something, something…tariffs, something, something…condescending arrogance”.
Where are my Brexit benefits?
David9694 wrote:
Mr Pot I presume.
Rich_cb wrote:
Many products? Or just very specific products? And the EU is no great outlier in terms of tariffs across the board being very similar to the US.
quote from a Pew Research Center report below
“In 2016, according to the World Bank, the average applied U.S. tariff across all products was 1.61%; that was about the same as the average rate of 1.6% for the 28-nation EU, and not much higher than Japan’s 1.35%. Among other major U.S. trading partners, Canada’s average applied tariff rate was 0.85%, China’s was 3.54% and Mexico’s was 4.36%. (Those average rates are weighted by product import shares with all of each nation’s trading partners, and don’t necessarily reflect the provisions of specific trade deals. Under NAFTA, for instance, most trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico is duty-free.) “
I think “many” is a
I think “many” is a reasonable description.
The full list is easily available, it’s not short.
If Canada can manage to have half the average tariff rate of the EU and still prosper we should aim for that.
Tariffs don’t benefit consumers, reducing tariffs reduces prices.
In my simplistic view,
In my simplistic view, Freeport’s = 14% tariff on 100% bikes sold
versus
EU warehousing = significantly lower tariffs (3-4% on A/B boxes?) on 90% of bikes sold (EU stock) and double tariff on 10% (U.K. stock). The proof of the pudding is when all these big players in the bike industry start closing their massive EU operations to open in the U.K. Freeport’s.
Many manufacturers? And Fairlight can offer 0% duty because of rules of origin, tariff inversion is specific to Freeport’s style legislation.
How long are brexiters going
How long are brexiters going to milk Covid for, I wonder? What’s the next excuse?
Nice to apply some hindsight re : lockdown, etc. In 2020, we didn’t know how Covid spread and it was only at the end of the year that there was a test for it and then a vaccine. No, you’re unlikely to acquire it outdoors or from touching a railing -we know all that now.
If anything, UK should have acted in February 2020 when it was obvious it was uncontrollable and often deadly. It would have been over a lot sooner, but hey he got the major calls right, etc.
Amazing that the near world
Amazing that the near world-destruction of Lockdowns and the origin of Covid virus gets a wide berth from these people, who are amazingly experts in why Brexit failed. Probabky also the ones arguing for censorship and yelling “misinformation!” to shut down opinions they don’t like while calling others fascists.
Why is that?
hairyairey wrote:
I wasn’t going to comment on anyone’s comments, but this one really got me, so here I am. It’s me quoted in the above article.
Here are a couple of points.
1) the covid lockdowns were a BOOST to cycling and my company and many others in the cycling industry. They were NOT the reason my business became impossible to run enjoyably and in a profitable way. You seem to be putting an anti lockdown agenda across, for no logical reason.
2) the new border between us and the UK. between my companies customers and the suppliers in Austria / Germany and Italy is a major barrier to trade. Just things like it no longer being super easy to move money out, long delays with shipping, import duty, C79s etc etc are all issues now that weren’t in play before the Brexit deal came into force at the start of 2021.
3) I deliberatly didn’t say it iss ALL because of Brexit, I said its mostly because of Brexit. I know this because I’ve run the business, its interesting that you think you know more about it than I do.
“Aha – Brexit benefit spotted
“Aha – Brexit benefit spotted!” I thought as we had the annual run of “Britons holidaying at home” news stories. It’s hard to put a trend or long-term numbers on this one as this is one instance where Covid really has distorted the picture (not sure how long brexiters are going to keep this one up in other areas, though). It is really that long ago that a June week in a holiday cottage in June was £500?
Cost and chaos: what’s driving Britons to holiday at home
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/17/cost-and-chaos-whats-driving-britons-to-holiday-at-home
And yet, as Wetherspoons pubs close down (the owner forgot that Brexit would deprive him of paying customers, make it hard to recruit and retain staff and would in fact put up many costs) we see, right at the start of the peak holiday time, things like this:
Dulverton pub The Bridge Inn needs new landlord to take on cost of living crisis
https://www.wsfp.co.uk/news/dulverton-pub-the-bridge-inn-needs-new-landlord-to-take-on-cost-of-living-crisis-627574
or
Popular Exmoor country pub closes due to rising costs
https://www.devonlive.com/news/cost-of-living/popular-devon-country-pub-closes-8621137?int_source=nba
It feels like a “make it make sense” moment.
Around my way, you are hard-put to get a drink on a Monday, in a few cases even on a Tuesday. The obsession with Sunday roast dinner continues apace, though.
The dangerously-wrong-about-everything Torygraph take:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-truths/why-britons-see-holidays-as-a-human-right/ (Paywall – headline only). I have met people in the past who live a sizeable chunk of their life for the next holiday in the sun, of which we had plenty in May and June this year.
Off topic, but for your “none of this will matter when…” folder, my new fave climate phrase is from the Rhodes evacuation:
Rhodes wildfires: British tourist says trying to escape the flames ‘was literally like the end of the world’ By the end of this summer, every Brit will know someone who cancelled, curtailed, or endured a break in the sun.
Pubs are closing because they
Pubs are closing because they’re being hit by sky high energy costs, it’s not uncommon to see their bills have risen £10k-20k, and that’s before you add in the increases in rent and inflationary prices impacting sales.
As for Wetherspoons, one of the few pubcos making a profit in this current climate, they regularly for many many years have closed pubs in areas where they are over represented, and expand into areas where they aren’t, it usually coincides with property rent terms ending and a renegotiation required.
David9694 wrote:
No really Brexit but the UK has certainly contributed. Is there irony in jetting to the sun?
yes, yes there is. We just
yes, yes there is. We just need a version of this where the man has a suitcase and perhaps a sombrero. I guess if you’re a Brexiter, you have no concept of facts, or The Future anyway, so this will fall on stony ground.
So wildfires are climate
So wildfires are climate change now? Good to know
Roulereo wrote:
Yes. Research has found that the wildfire season across the globe has extended by 20%+ due to warmer springs, higher temperatures and longer and more intense drought periods. When forests dry out, they’re more likely to catch fire, not that difficult a concept to understand. In the western USA the amount of forest destroyed by wildfires was 10x greater in 2003-12 than in 1973-82. In Alaska, which has suffered hugely from wildfires over the last decade, fires are 45% more likely to occur now than thirty years ago due to conditions changing as a result of climate change. Modelling has shown that at the current rate of climate-change-influenced increase catastrophic wildfire incidents that were previously once-a-century events will be occurring once every 5-10 years in Europe by 2100. Not so much good to know as somewhat terrifying to know.
Ok Boomer. “Modelling has
Ok Boomer. “Modelling has shown...” is that like “Trust the science”, “Safe and effective” “Get vaccinated and you won’t transmit it”etc etc.?
Roulereo wrote:
Ooh look, he said that thing, like that thing that young people say, that’s got me….
Apart from the fact that I am not of the Boomer generation, for your interest and education the phrase is used to dismiss older people who deny issues that are generally of concern to young people such as climate change, minority oppression and so forth, so it would appear to apply far more to yourself than to me.
Yes, you’re so right. We need
Yes, you’re so right. We need a Climate Lockdown urgently. Otherwise how will we ever get to Net Zero?
Our grandchildren will never
Our grandchildren will never forgive us if the planet we bequeathed them is a ruin. Perhaps you think it’s all something of a joke, shame on you.
Its not often that I agree
Its not often that I agree with you but yes, we need a Climate Lockdown urgently.
Time to ban all private cars, stop flights and invest only in actual green solutions. Without such, the planet will carry on burning. Fifteen minute cities are the way forward.
And yes, I am a Boomer and proud.
We can all help – why not
We can all help – why not combine two interests?
Or if you want something a bit more general purpose (and a DIY project). Even better combine multiple sources (note – this website walks the walk so may be offline if it’s not been sunny for a while!).
Thanks for the suggestions
Thanks for the suggestions but I already have 4kw hour solar system plus a solar hot water system on my roof, so the few watts I use on the computer is ofset against that.
I could do more I agree but then should we all.
Ah Brexit, the gift that
Ah Brexit, the gift that keeps on giving.
Pre-EU the UK was “The sick man of Europe”, nostalgia being what it is, we’re now rushing headlong back to that (un)enviable state…
CE marks – the long predicted
CE marks – the long predicted Brexit fuck up has now arrived