MP Dame Harriett Baldwin writes for our paper.
EVER since America elected President Donald Trump, the world has kept a close eye on the pronouncements of the White House and the impact this will have on world trade.
President Trump is a fan of tariffs and yet I see them as a tax on goods crossing a border that lead to higher prices and lower competition.
Having recently visited the headquarters of our iconic local car manufacturer Morgan Motors, I heard first hand how trade tariffs can directly impact a business.
Twenty three American customers waiting for cars to arrive in shipping containers found they would be 25 per cent more expensive when they landed.
The tariff deal may look like an abstract conversation for many local people but this could directly impact on jobs and growth in our area.
The increased National Insurance jobs tax is also having a profound effect on the businesses which build these beautiful motor cars.
So while the Prime Minister congratulates himself for a good deal, the devil is in the detail and few people in the Labour Government has experience of either running a business or how to turn a profit.
From the Chancellor downwards, Ministers show a distinct lack of empathy or understanding of entrepreneurs and enterprise. And yet it is only businesses that create growth and opportunity and generate the tax revenues for our public services.
We all hoped that the India trade deal would be another piece of good news. After all, the freedoms given to us following the decision to leave the European Union meant that we were able to negotiate outside of EU strictures. Instead the deal announced by the Government will mean a two-tier tax system for Indian workers with the strong probability of more people moving to the UK to work.
The deal was 95 per cent done under the last Government and yet, still, the current administration has found an open, own goal opportunity.
This Government is literally putting up taxes for British workers, while cutting them for Indian workers.
I’ve am currently opposition spokesperson for legislation that will see our country become a rule-taker again with our legislation set in Brussels – definitely not something that people voted for in the 2016 Referendum or 2019 general election.
And all eyes are on the deal that is set to be announced by the Government on trade with the UK.
It is being called a reset but many will fear that this is part of a long-running campaign by the Labour party to reverse the decisions made by the British people nearly ten years ago.
Any such backsliding would not be in our national interest and would be a betrayal of the millions who decided that we should leave the European Union.
Reports of ceding control over fishing rights or continued meddling of the European Court of Justice show that the left-wing liberal so-called elite are out of touch and seeking to wind black the clock.
I pledge not to stand aside as the Government allows the erosion of British sovereignty.
It is not in the interests of my West Worcestershire constituents, nor will it be welcomed by the British people.
Harriett Baldwin, MP for West Worcestershire
