On 23/05/2017 13:48, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
James Harris wrote:
On 23/05/2017 00:42, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
James Harris wrote:
It was from last year and basically said that the US was again importing
UK beef after our beef had been declared free of mad cow disease, and
that it was a lucrative market for UK farmers.

Right. The articles I've read on it mention the *potential* for such sales.
Which is a rather different matter from achieving them. Especially with
Trump wanting to protect US jobs.

True. The papers did splashed on it when the trade was reopened. So you
would expect them to speak of the *potential*. But they must have based
their adjectives on what the trade was like before the ban came in.

And whether Trump is protectionist or not, the point remains what we can
sell beef to the USA - so international trade is not as simple or
exclusive as you suggested with your earlier examples. That was all I
was pointing out to you.

Sorry - potential is politician speak. I'd rather wait until it happens
before crowing.

And do you *really* think the UK can be competitive in beef sales to the
US? Perhaps as a niche high quality product. But it ain't going to go far
in paying our bills.

That's irrelevant to the discussion we were having. If UK firms can make
money from selling beef to the US then they will want to do so.


--
James Harris