Boris Johnson: Japan is "relaxed" about Britain leaving the EU

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...ng-the-EU.html

Boris Johnson: Japan is relaxed about Britain leaving the EU

Boris Johnson says Japan, the world's third largest economy, is not worried about the prospect of an EU referendum or Britain leaving the EU because he knows Britain will remain part of a European free-trade zone 'whatever happens'

With ball in hand Boris Johnson lines up a young opponent

Boris Johnson has said that Japan, one of the World's most successful economies, is not concerned about the prospect of Britain leaving the European Union. The Mayor of London said after a trip to Japan last week that "no one seems worried" about the referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. He said that Japanese business leaders are "smart enough to know" that Britain will remain in a European free-trade zone "whatever happens".

His comments are in stark contrast to the views of David Cameron, who earlier this week questioned whether Britain will be able to access the single market if it leaves the European Union. In a diary, published on the Spectator magazine's website, Mr Johnson said: "What was the one question that no one bothered to ask, in three solid days of talking to Japanese business people? "No one seems worried about the UK’s EU referendum. They are smart enough to know that Britain will remain, whatever happens, in a European free-trade zone."

Many pro-Brexit campaigners argue that Britain would be able to win a free trade deal with the EU, similar to that enjoyed by Switzerland, if it left the bloc.

Looks like Boris is going to back British exit in he campaign, he'd be a good figure to have lead it.

But in terms of what he's saying, he's just confirming it for anyone who has looked past the scaremongering. Of course we'd have access to European markets just as we had before 1973: the difference being that we'd be more free to negotiate with rising Asian and Commonwealth economies like India, China, Brazil and so on without having to then negotiate with 28 other European countries and the Commission.

Wearing a shirt, blouse or jacket right now? Check label. China. Taiwan. Bangladesh. Are they in the EU? No. But they sell and buy with the EU.

Simple.

Thoughts?

[FlyingJesus]

I'll have you know my tshirt was made in Mauritius. Great picture to use in a story about Boris making friends with the Japanese lmao FINISH HIM

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China. Taiwan. Bangladesh. Are they in the EU? No. But they sell and buy with the EU.

Because comparing UK wages with those three countries is logical >.> China can knock up almost anything we make here at a much lower cost, that is why they sell to the whole world.

You know what the UK is the biggest exporter of? AIR. It is a common joke in the shipping industry. A fraction of the containers which come to UK go back with something inside. The rest just have air.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Because comparing UK wages with those three countries is logical >.> China can knock up almost anything we make here at a much lower cost, that is why they sell to the whole world.

You know what the UK is the biggest exporter of? AIR. It is a common joke in the shipping industry. A fraction of the containers which come to UK go back with something inside. The rest just have air.

The United Kingdom is one of the biggest manufacturing nations in the world.

The joke here is your pessimism. Lighten up and be more positive and confident, Britain is the 6th biggest economy in the world.

[AgnesIO]

The United Kingdom is one of the biggest manufacturing nations in the world.

The joke here is your pessimism. Lighten up and be more positive and confident, Britain is the 6th biggest economy in the world.

Interesting. You completely ignored his point about cheap labour.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Interesting. You completely ignored his point about cheap labour.

Just because a country has cheaper labour does not mean nations with higher, more expensive labour cannot compete. There's more to manufacturing to what wages people are paid: there's skills, education, logistics, technology, infrastructure. In many industries, countries such as China cannot compete with more advanced nations such as say Britain or Germany when it comes to producing (for example) cars as they neither have the education or quality that British and German manufacturing can offer. We tend to produce more high end goods of a better quality compared to what is produced in the Orient.

IE China may be producing millions of cheap plastic action man toys but we're producing tens of thousands of cars and high quality chemical substances.

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Just because a country has cheaper labour does not mean nations with higher, more expensive labour cannot compete. There's more to manufacturing to what wages people are paid: there's skills, education, logistics, technology, infrastructure. In many industries, countries such as China cannot compete with more advanced nations such as say Britain or Germany when it comes to producing (for example) cars as they neither have the education or quality that British and German manufacturing can offer. We tend to produce more high end goods of a better quality compared to what is produced in the Orient.

IE China may be producing millions of cheap plastic action man toys but we're producing tens of thousands of cars and high quality chemical substances.

If you honestly think that all China is capable of manufacturing is "cheap plastic toys" then you are totally on the wrong track, and in denial.

China has more graduates in engineering than USA. I am not going to bother finding hundreds of statistics to prove you wrong on your ridiculous notion that China lacks education but will post a select few quotes:

...tests showed that Shanghai was top of the international education rankings.

China's education performance - at least in cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong - seems to be as spectacular as the country's breakneck economic expansion, outperforming many more advanced countries.

And regarding your point of cars, see links below:

http://news.sky.com/story/1357273/ra...-made-in-china

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...-in-China.html

The idea that someone else cannot produce something is ridiculous and that complacency is why businesses fail

Fun Fact: Did you know that it is cheaper to buy a ITALIAN MARBLE headstone in UK which has gone from Italy to India (for shaping) to UK than to have the Slab come to UK direct from Italy and be shaped here?

[-:Undertaker:-]

@snr;

you're grasping at individual examples of certain products in order to prove a false point, ie China. China is simply not capable of quality producing on our level. Britain is the world's 8th largest manufacturing nation and we make and sell a lot of goods. That's a fact and one to be positive about rather than negative.

The comment about Italian marble for example just shows it. You remind me of a luddite kind of person who would like to have us reopen the coal mines in Britain even when it is cheaper to ship it in from China (because in that world view somehow it is better paying £50 a ton of coal than £5). Different nations are good at producing different things, Britain isn't a sweatshop anymore (thank god) we're an advanced economy so we are good more so at service sector as well as quality manufacturing. It makes us a lot of money and we have good standards of living. Hence why we're on wages that the Chinese can only dream of.

So I repeat. All of that is a good thing.

[-:Undertaker:-]

... and I would just add, sure there's a lot to improve upon - I would be the first to say it. But I don't see how your pessimism (despite the facts) about British industry and manufacturing then leads you to the conclusion that we'd be better being run by Belgian bureacrats who are some of the most pro-green taxation and pro-regulation fanatics in the western world: both of which are an anathema to manufacturing, an industry that requires a lot of (cheap) energy.

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@snr;

you're grasping at individual examples of certain products in order to prove a false point, ie China. China is simply not capable of quality producing on our level. Britain is the world's 8th largest manufacturing nation and we make and sell a lot of goods. That's a fact and one to be positive about rather than negative.

The comment about Italian marble for example just shows it. You remind me of a luddite kind of person who would like to have us reopen the coal mines in Britain even when it is cheaper to ship it in from China (because in that world view somehow it is better paying £50 a ton of coal than £5). Different nations are good at producing different things, Britain isn't a sweatshop anymore (thank god) we're an advanced economy so we are good more so at service sector as well as quality manufacturing. It makes us a lot of money and we have good standards of living. Hence why we're on wages that the Chinese can only dream of.

So I repeat. All of that is a good thing.

Oh my. I am not grasping at individual examples. You boldly claimed Chinese people are uneducated, unskilled and therefore are incapable of making a quality product. You use car manufacturing as an example. Therefore I proved you wrong by stating that Range Rover who is as British as you are going to get have even opened a factory in China. In the past 30 years, the UK's manufacturing sector has shrunk by two-thirds.

I used the example of Italian Marble to prove skilled labour at a cheap rate exists in countries like India and China because you seem to think the east has no skilled people (how ridiculous!).

The Chinese are on wages British people once were on. They are just in a phase we were once in.

... and I would just add, sure there's a lot to improve upon - I would be the first to say it. But I don't see how your pessimism (despite the facts) about British industry and manufacturing then leads you to the conclusion that we'd be better being run by Belgian bureacrats who are some of the most pro-green taxation and pro-regulation fanatics in the western world: both of which are an anathema to manufacturing, an industry that requires a lot of (cheap) energy.

It is not about being negative or positive. It is about being realistic. Simply being positive is what leads to failure in these situations, you need to be realistic. The EU helps our economy. I could say the same thing to you ... why aren't you being positive about the EU instead of your pessimism.