to think this spin on Soy sauce post Brexit is impressive

[chomalungma]

www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/28/dfids-brexit-soy-sauce-price-cut-claim-prompts-backlash-bake-off

So I think I got this right.
We don't pay any tariffs on soy sauce at the moment due to a trade deal with Japan via the EU.
If we had left on WTO terms, we would pay 6% extra.
We have done a deal with Japan so if we leave the EU without a deal, we would have been paying WTO percentage tariffs.

Dept for Trade claim that the soy sauce used on Great British Bake Off will be cheaper thanks to the deal.

Really - they have stopped it getting more expensive.

(Oh - and as far as I am aware, a lot of our soy sauce doesn't come from Japan anyway)

They have clarified their message

Department for International Trade

@tradegovuk

To clarify: thanks to the UK-Japan trade deal, soya sauce will be cheaper than it otherwise would be under WTO terms, on which we would be trading with Japan from 1 Jan if we had not secured the UK-Japan trade deal.

Image

Thanks - I’m a Brexit convert then. Who know that it was all for cheaper soy sauce?

It won’t even be cheaper though, given that the largest exporter of soy sauce to Britain is based in...The Netherlands

Of course - by doing this, they've highlighted that there are things that will be expensive post Brexit.

And would those be the fantastic WTO terms they keep telling us about?

@FlyingFlamingo

It won’t even be cheaper though, given that the largest exporter of soy sauce to Britain is based in...The Netherlands

It's a great question to pose to a Cabinet Minister.

If you stop something getting more expensive in the future, have you made it cheaper?

Oh wow I've totally changed my mind then.

Great news can't wait.

That's some very depressive impressive spin. It's embarrassing.

The salient point for me was that a civil service account is once again being used to disseminate political spin.

So it’s staying the same price because we’ve got the same trade deal with Japan that we already had. Jesus fucking Christ. Brexit is an unbelievable bag of bollocks. Surely even the most ardent Brexiters can’t still be falling for this utter shite.

Well soy sauce that has travelled half way around the world to reach you will be the same price.

The soy sauce you may currently buy that was manufactured in The Netherlands will actually cost you more because our inept government aren’t doing a very good job of negotiated a free trade deal with the EU.

Yet there are still people falling for this crap.

You have to wonder if they even thought about it.

I would love to ask Boris Johnson why it would be cheaper and that if he is saying that some food products would have been more expensive if we didn't do deals with countries, what goods would be more expensive?

*negociating

I think most of our Soy sauce is actually made in Wales.

I've worked it out.
IF it was coming from Japan (which it won't be) and given the current price of a bottle of soy sauce which lasts a minumum of a year for me... I would be saving 1p in that year.
I'm ecstatic!
Just working out where I'm going to spend my saving!

Hold up. Os that an actual account. As in actual government account? I saw it on twitter and thought it was a parody account!

@SchrodingersImmigrant

Hold up. Os that an actual account. As in actual government account? I saw it on twitter and thought it was a parody account!

Genuine account

@MollyButton I was coming on to say the same thing! Wales is our biggest soy sauce producer.

Genuine account

👀
Fuck me. That's just ridiculous

BBC with a reality check

www.bbc.co.uk/news/54718306

@SchrodingersImmigrant

Genuine account

👀
Fuck me. That's just ridiculous

It's genius.

In Yes Prime Minister, they spun job savings simply by renaming people's titles and then saying they'd reduced the number of managers.

And people believe it.

They are seriously clutching at straws with this and must think we are a nation of morons. Either that or they are morons who don't actually understand the implications

Reuters story

uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-trade-soyproducts-idUKKBN27D20I

Seasoned trade experts were quick to highlight that under the terms of Britain’s exit deal from the EU, an EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement remains in force and no tariffs are currently applicable on soy sauce imports from Japan into Britain.
Japanese imports of soy sauce make up 14.6 percent of British imports of the product.Trade data showed that in 2019 31% of Britain’s 22,589 tons of soy sauce imports came from the Netherlands and 10% from Poland - both EU member states.
Unless Britain strikes a trade deal with the EU in the next 10 weeks - a negotiation which currently hangs in the balance - those imports will be subject to 6% tariffs under World Trade Organisation terms.

How long can you feed on soy sauce only?