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Brexit: The Trigger for a New Atlantic Alliance
by John Brian Shannon | October 4, 2016
Britain, more than any other Atlantic Ocean nation, would benefit from an Atlantic Alliance free trade zone precisely because it is an island nation, and as such it depends on free trade and movement of goods in order to thrive to it’s full potential.
Since the Roman era Britain has enjoyed a historic presence in the Atlantic Ocean for good reason — island nations need regional trade to survive and international trade to thrive.
For Britain, there is no way forward without enhanced international trade. In principle, islands should always be the strongest proponents of international trade and international law for the very reason that they profoundly need the world to function that way.
Japan set a wonderful example for all island nations in the postwar era, but never moreso since the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 when U.S. consumers suddenly decided to switch their gas-guzzler cars for lower priced and more fuel efficient Japanese cars.
Not only were millions of cars imported from Japan over the following years, but because the necessary technology to build cars was transferable to home and personal electronics, Japan received a double boost to it’s economy every day since the Arab Oil Embargo.
From one of the worst performing economies in the world in 1946 to it’s peak as the #2 global economy in the 1990’s — the Japanese economic miracle rode its high quality manufacturing base that catered to the needs of billions of consumers. By any standard it remains an impressive accomplishment.
And now it’s Britain’s turn to shine as the world’s next booming economy.
Although much has changed since the oil supply shocks of 1973, the world economy continues to grow, with developing nation consumers seeing comparatively massive increases in their disposable income, presenting a wonderful opportunity for a Britain suddenly freed from an overly bureaucratic political union.
Therefore, let us count the ways that an Atlantic Ocean trading alliance (a free trade zone, that I propose be restricted to nations that front the Atlantic Ocean) could benefit Britain and the other Atlantic nations.
Britain, more than any other Atlantic Ocean nation, would benefit from an Atlantic Alliance free trade zone precisely because it is an island. Atlantic Ocean map. Image courtesy of Geography.name
In the North Atlantic, we have the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Norway, France, Spain and Portugal.
In Africa; Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, front the Atlantic Ocean.
And in South America, we have the South Atlantic nations of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil fronting directly onto the Atlantic Ocean — while French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Columbia, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, and Mexico and many island nations reside within the Caribbean Sea — which is of course, easily navigable to the open Atlantic Ocean.
All of these nations should receive a warm invitation to join such a trading block.
It is perhaps the best matchup of nations since the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944. In the list of Atlantic and Caribbean nations, exist the most developed nations to the least developed, from the most overbuilt tourist locations to vastly underbuilt tourism markets, to the astonishing per capita petroleum and mineral resource base. Such opportunity abounds for those who pursue economic interdependence between Atlantic nations! From the most highly skilled labour to the cheapest labour, and among the highest cost real estate to the cheapest agricultural land in the world, everything that a developed or still developing nation needs can be easily found within this trading area.
The economic opportunities are uncountable, and they are sitting there untapped. At the moment, it’s a criminal waste of opportunity that must rank as a negative for every Atlantic nation whether developed or developing.
The obvious move here is for British Prime Minister Theresa May to voice strong support for an Atlantic free trade zone, contacting representatives of each country to find out what Britain offers, that can mesh with the needs of each Atlantic Alliance trading partner. And vice-versa.
Once some activity generates and some new trade begins to take shape, it would be wise to meet regularly to discuss standardization of regulations, whether shipping or other modes of transportation, financial, tourism, and other ways to work together. Even the baby-steps of working together to protect maritime shipping from at-sea piracy, or to form mutual aid groups designed to streamline hurricane or other natural disaster relief would demonstrate ways that Atlantic nations can work together for mutual benefit.
If the NAFTA model is used as the trading template, some of it’s terms could be adjusted to better suit the preferences of all Atlantic Alliance members, or it could be seen as the eventual goal for all members to reach at some point. At the very least it could be used as a reference point, a place to begin discussions.
By leading such an effort Britain would be well-placed — not to own the Alliance — but to offer it’s expertise and experience, so that the end result is a Win-Win for every nation involved. That is what makes for strong partnerships, and strong partnerships always make economic sense.
Why Britain needs a dedicated Minister for Europe
by John Brian Shannon | September 21, 2016
It is a time of change and a time of renewal in old Europa.
Three countries are leaving or have already left the European Union. Greenland opted to leave in 2009, the residents of Switzerland voted in a countrywide referendum to leave the EU in 2014, and in 2016 Britons voted to Brexit.
Not only that, but Italy decides by countrywide referendum whether to stay in the EU this December, while the Netherlands, France, and Hungary have upcoming elections and strong anti-EU political parties pushing for referenda to exit from the European Union.
Norway never did join the EU, but co-exists with the EU via the EEA and EFTA models. And Norway’s economy and people are doing very well, to say the least.
It’s not WWII scale of change in Europe, thankfully. It’s not even Marshall Plan reconstruction of Europe scale of change. But Europe is changing, it’s a work-in-progress, and there is much that could still go right, or wrong, for the European project.
Creating a Minister for European Affairs
Which is why Prime Minister Theresa May should create a new position in her government of Minister for Europe which would cover everything Europe on behalf of the British government.
For the Foreign Secretary to try to cover all things Europe at this time of unprecedented change in Europe — and to build and nurture relationships between Britain and every other country in the world, is simply asking too much from one human being. The Foreign Secretary’s job is a full time job, and that’s under normal circumstances.
While a Minister for Europe would be a full time job with significant challenges involved as some of the 27 EU nations seek to delay, derail, or persuade Britain to remain in the EU (not because it will benefit the UK, but because that’s what will benefit their particular country) even as others seek to punish UK voters for choosing to Brexit.
The Minister for Brexit portfolio only deals with relations between the UK and the European Union, while a Minister for Europe would cover all socio-economic and military-security relations (and more) with every country from Iceland in the west to Ukraine in the east, from Norway in the north to Spain’s southern islands off the coast of Africa, in the south.
There is so much more going on in Europe these days beyond the mandate of Minister for Brexit, that it will take a full time and highly dedicated person to oversee all things Europe. It’s a big territory and it’s sure to be a big job.
Choosing the best Minister for European Affairs
And for that, you need someone larger than life — someone like Nigel Farage, who isn’t afraid of anyone, anywhere, for any reason. At no time would anyone ever think that Nigel wasn’t fully devoted to protecting Britain and helping her to grow to her best potential. Even his political opponents would attest to that.
Mr. Farage created and led the UKIP political party to great heights in a very few years, culminating in the Brexit vote, and Nigel Farage made it look easy every day of the year.
I couldn’t imagine anyone more suited to the job than Nigel Farage, nor could anyone approach his future success in all of the UK’s dealings with Europe, from Iceland to Ukraine and everything in between.
Thus far, PM Theresa May has made some smart moves, hiring Nigel Farage as Minister for Europe could prove to be the smartest move of all.
Britain – It’s a time of profound change in Europe which makes it the time for Theresa May to appoint a dedicated and energetic Minister for Europe. Nigel Farage at the UK Parliament Buildings. Image courtesy of The Spectator
A Better Immigration Model for Britain
by John Brian Shannon | September 8, 2016
One of two main reasons 17 million Britons gave for voting Brexit was widespread dissatisfaction over the unprecedented immigration levels of recent years.
The question in the UK today is how to go about addressing future immigration loads. I’m looking forward to some mature discussion about the kind of Britain citizens want to live in over the coming years.
Do we want to be a minority in our own country?
That’s a fair question and there are examples of countries where the native population represents only 10% of the total population, while the other 90% are expat workers and retirees.
The thriving Middle Eastern state of Qatar is one such example. Apart from the extraordinarily wealthy Qatar Royal Family and the other native Qataris, everyone else in the country (which represent some 90% of the total population of Qatar) hails from other countries and are often found working for relatively menial wages. Although compared to their home countries, the money they earn in Qatar would be considered exceptional remuneration — and much of their hard-earned wages are sent to their families abroad.
Foreign Remittances
Some south Asian economies receive a significant GDP boost from these so-called ‘foreign remittances’ which is the money that expat workers send home to their families.
Countries like Thailand receive 6% of domestic GDP from such foreign remittances. Each pound sterling that leaves the UK in the form of foreign remittances to family members, is one pound sterling that is added to Thailand’s GDP, and is one pound that will never return to the UK. Some areas of Somalia receive 70% of their GDP from family members working in Britain and in other countries.
The UK has hundreds of thousands of foreign workers from many nations who send home much of the wages they’ve earned, totalling millions of pounds sterling per month.
Note: Personal transfers described above are in addition to the almost 1 percent of GDP (0.71%) that Britain spends on developing nations in the form of government-to-government foreign aid — which means that a minimum of 1.5% of British GDP (including such foreign remittances) is leaving the country every year to assist people in developing nations. Most donor nations contribute much less than 1% of GDP (including foreign remittances) to developing countries. The EU donor average is 0.47% for example.
- Introduction To Remittances (Investopedia)
- Remittances: Funds for the Folks Back Home (IMF)
- Forget foreign aid: British migrants send £11 BILLION back to other countries in a YEAR (The Express)
Obviously, there are many foreign workers who are an asset to Britain and work in occupations that native Britons avoid, usually on account of the low pay involved. And although they send their wages abroad, many of these foreign workers still represent a real, net benefit to Britain.
Therefore, the question becomes; Who should stay and who should go?
Let’s have one standard that covers both present and future immigration and offer all of those people British citizenship after one-year of residency in Britain. (Assuming they don’t commit any criminal act during that probationary period)
Who should stay?
Category I: Professors, Doctors, MBA’s, and other degrees
Category II: Highly skilled workers
Category III: Honourably served in the UK military
Category IV: Immediate family of any of the above
Category V: Workers in segments where there are more jobs available, than British citizen applicants
Who should go?
Any foreigner who commits a crime in the UK should be deported, forthwith, and with no chance of ever returning to Britain. No exceptions except by Royal Pardon.
Making people Part of the Solution, instead of Part of the Problem
In this way, and over time, Britain will accrue the highest concentration of highly educated and highly motivated people, allowing it to prosper as never before, while (continuously) clearing the country of foreign criminal elements.
And all of this will work very well in conjunction with a better British education system — an education system that features tuition-free university for British citizens and continually adjusts to Build a Better Britain.
Letter to Britain 