When is the NI. deadline?

@Zaphod , Exactly that !!
All we need now is a government that is prepared to persue the
advantages fully ?? :weary:
Donkeyman! :grin::grin:

Not just the government but British business too because these are the ones that really matter and that manufacture and export.
Although maybe we are seeing the beginnings with for example that sector according to the most recent surveys saying that optimism especially in manufacturing and engineering is at an all-time high.
Even in the transport & haulage sector confidence is at the highest since 2018 despite driver shortages.
It’s a start but like you say, it needs pursuing to take full advantage of opportunities.

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I don’t know enough about the financials but they reported that we will have to adhere our products and exports to their agreed standards. Which is one of the problems we had with the EU, except in the case of the latter our processes are already geared up for it. So this is possibly a high cost for exporters. it’s a typical barrier to entry to protect markets within a trade block.

I think that most of the time that’s just our media or some disgruntled souls making more of something than the reality suggests to be the case.

Example: if you want to sell dress shirts to China they have to meet Chinese standards with such things as size, labelling and care instructions, just the same as Chinese shirts must meet our standards if they want to sell them here.
We generally can’t read Chinese and their sizing system is a little bit different to ours and vice-versa.
That has nothing whatsoever to do with trade blocs, barriers or processes; it is a natural requirement of selling those shirts.

There might well be higher costs involved in exporting anything anywhere but here’s the thing: we have been exporting various things all around the world for centuries and managed just fine.
Even as an EU member over half our exports were to countries outside the EU.

Personally I think that too much attention is given to trade deals and that real benefits are relatively-speaking quite minimal.
Our biggest single destination for exports has been the USA for quite a long time and we don’t have a trade deal with them.
When deals are agreed, along with supposed benefits there are always parts that are more-favourable to the other party too because that’s what a deal is; give and take.
It’s a modern form of bartering.
Such things have to be balanced with whether or not you are potentially increasing your market; could more people from the country you want a deal with buy your “stuff” than you will in turn be buying from them and will the profit margins make either option viable?

It’s not as easy to see either benefits or detriments sometimes for many years too, as over 40 years of expensive club membership and the subsequent cancellation are still proving.