Brexit Thoughts #3: Drugs

Currently the London-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorises drugs for use across the EU……including the UK. However, the EMA is expected to move out of the UK after Brexit, raising uncertainty over whether the UK will need to develop its own separate drug approval system.

The fear is, that if this happens, pharmaceutical firms could be slower to seek permission for their drugs to be used in just one country (i.e. UK)……focusing instead on getting their drugs approved for larger more lucrative markets (i.e. EU).

There are uncomfortable outcomes with this scenario:

Firstly, there are fears Brexit may cause delays in UK patients getting new drugs as the larger EU market is a bigger incentive for pharmaceutical firms.

Secondly, Brexit could undermine future investment, research and jobs in the UK in this sector.

Health, jobs, medical research and development, etc. all in the balance and hanging on positive negotiations.

2 years seems a very short timescale all of a sudden.

Brexit Thoughts #2: EU Employment

Employment reached record levels across the Eurozone and the wider European Union during the first part of 2017. Compared with last year, 1.5% more people in the countries using the single currency had jobs. The by-product of the employment figures is that it bodes well for the EU’s economic growth figures. This can only be a good thing in the short term for the UK as they are our biggest trade partner……we benefit from their prosperity.

 

There are two trains of thought on whether this is good for the UK’s Brexit negotiations.

 

On the one hand, some will argue that the EU is not coming from a desperate economic / employment background and there will be confidence in its current position. Some will feel that they don’t need the UK as a consequence……be off with them.

 

On the other hand, others will argue that their improving economic outlook is because the UK is part of the EU currently. As the EU’s biggest trade partner, barriers to trade with the UK as a consequence of Brexit will only have a negative impact on economic growth.

 

So, is the EU glass half full or half empty?

 

We shall see.

Brexit Thoughts #1: Cars

 

The EU is by far the UK's biggest car export market, with more than half of all finished cars bought by the EU. This is four times as large as the next biggest market. UK car manufacturing generated £77.5 billion of turnover last year and accounted for 12% of the total goods exported from the UK.

 

Clearly the EU is a ‘big deal’ in car making and to the UK economy.

 

All of this is the by-product of the tariff / tax free movement of goods within the EU……can you now imagine the impact of increasing car production costs if there is a new EU import / export tariff?    

 

Then add in new regulatory red tape and new labour issues and it is clear there is much to be thrashed out during Brexit negotiations.

 

This is just one small area amongst the enormity of issues to be negotiated……but it is one small area that employs 1 million people in the UK.

All The Presidents Lies

There is simply no precedent for an American President spending so much time telling untruths. Every president has shaded the truth or told occasional whoppers. No other president has behaved as Trump is behaving. He is trying to create an atmosphere in which reality is irrelevant……yet he complains of ‘fake news’. The guy is clearly persistently drunk!

 

The New York Times has catalogued all of these lies and it is a truly fascinating read……Trump told public lies every day of his first 40 Days. The streak didn’t end until 1 March 2017. Since then, he has said something untrue on at least 74 of 113 days. Nearly 60% of Americans say the President is not honest……up from about 53% when he took office.

 

The full article can be read at the following link. However, my particular favourites are below:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/23/opinion/trumps-lies.html

 

21/01/2017: “A reporter for Time magazine — and I have been on their cover 14 or 15 times. I think we have the all-time record in the history of Time magazine.” (Trump was on the cover 11 times and Nixon appeared 55 times.)

 

25/01/2017: “So, look, when President Obama was there two weeks ago making a speech, very nice speech. Two people were shot and killed during his speech. You can't have that.” (There were no gun homicide victims in Chicago that day.)

 

16/02/2017: “Walmart announced it will create 10,000 jobs in the United States this year because of our various plans and initiatives.” (The jobs are a result of Walmart's investment plans announced in October 2016!)

 

07/03/2017: “122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!” (113 of them were released by President George W. Bush.)

 

08/05/2017: “You know we’ve gotten billions of dollars more in NATO than we were getting. All because of me.” (The deal was struck in 2014!)

 

21/06/2017: “Right now, we are one of the highest-taxed nations in the world.” (They are not even close to being the highest!)

 

 

And in case you need reminding, this is the most powerful man in the world!

 

Remarkable……truly remarkable.