Unilateral free trade

The old order has been swept away. Let us try something new. If we did unilateral free trade, we’d get flooded with cheap goods people can’t now sell to the US. This would make us much richer and trigger an economic miracle of our own.

This would be especially true of the Chinese goods they cannot sell to the US, and of US goods they cannot sell to China. It would include EU goods tariffed out of the USA.

It would turn us once again into a nation of shopkeepers instead of a nation of shoplifters. Instead of a reset of our relations with the EU, we should embark on a reset of our relations with the world.

Come and get it, guys. The UK is not only open for business, it would be open for trade, spurring one of the biggest flows in history.

The flow of cheap goods would lower inflation, enabling lower interest rates and thereby boosting economic growth.

Those suggesting we should just manage our inevitable decline should consider the alternative of taking a lead and setting an example to the world.

Madsen Pirie