Quote Originally Posted by ncfcog View Post
If you speak to many business owners, like myself it isn't the vote to leave that has caused them most concern but the ineptitude of those charged with seeing it through.

My own business has suffered terribly since the referendum but only because my clients and prospects are waiting for it to be resolved one way or another before they feel comfortable parting with large sums of money for new machinery etc.

One way or another I personally want to see a resolution asap. At this stage whether it is a watered down deal or no deal actually has no real bearing on matters as it will give businesses a baseline to start making positive decisions about investing in areas of their businesses they have up until now been avoiding.

I buy and sell equipment and services to and from all four corners of the world. The free trade agreement we have enjoyed in the EU is great but only really in the fact that I have less paperwork to do. My dealings with companies in Australasia and the Americas is much more lucrative and to be honest worth the extra admin.

I voted leave thinking it would force the UK to forge aggressive trade deals with other countries outside the EU. Unfortunately those charged with fulfilling this objective on behalf of UK trade and commerce have failed miserably and done nothing but waste time trying to appease a few suits in Brussels.
Ncfcog I remember you were very bullish after the vote because the falling pound made your exports cheaper. I'm sorry to hear your business is suffering because you're one of the more measured posters on here.

Maybe with your business acumen you can answer a question about trade deals I've asked a few times on here and never really had a reply.

If the EU negotiators have the bargaining power of access to 28 EU markets when discussing trade deals, how can we get a better deal with, for example, countries in the Americas and Australasia when we can only grant access to one market in return?

If I rang your company and ordered a machine but said I wanted a better price than you gave the guy who just ordered 28 machines, wouldn't you think I was stupid?

To put it another way, if a US state declared independence from the USA what bargaining power would it realistically have to get a better trade deal than the whole USA which can grant access to a much bigger market?

And the follow up question is: are our negotiators incompetent or have they just been given a near impossible job?