On Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:06:29 +1100, john james wrote:

So why aren't we making those exports now?

Because the EU system stops that or makes it less convenient than
with your competitors like the US....

The correct answer is that Britain has long failed to exploit
emerging overseas markets and was being criticised for that failure
well before the recession.

It is not up to Britain to negotiate trade deals with the rest of the
world. That is what the EU does.

And the exact same trade deals apply to the UK - which is apparently
failing to export - as to Germany - which is exporting hand-over-fist.

That isn't because of trade deals, it's because the collapse in the euro
has made German cars very attractively priced outside the eurozone.

Not just the motor industry, and not just recently.