Interesting Twitter thread earlier. Sorry, it starts with Roger Helmer (I know).
Roger Helmer
In New Zealand for a couple of days, I am struck again by the disgraceful way in which we cut off NZ agriculture at the knees in 1973, when we joined the EEC. It was a disgrace. No one offered NZ a “transition period”.
Michael Merrifield
***@ProfMike*_M
Your blind faith in an impossible future is matched by your profound ignorance of the past. There was exactly such a transitional arrangement, the Luxembourg agreement.
Tracy C
*@TracyCollins13*
I don't think New Zealanders see it quite that way. Mr Helmer sums up the feelings here very well.
The UK ditched us and we suffered a tonne. The country spiralled into debt and as a result, some very, very bad things happened in the 1980s.
Michael Merrifield
***@ProfMike*_M
It’s not a matter of debate — he is factually incorrect when he asserts that there were no transitional arrangements for New Zealand.
Michael Merrifield
***@ProfMike*_M
But I have to agree with your analysis that ditching long-standing close trading arrangements with your major export partner is likely to lead to serious economic hardship.
Mark S Maquisard 🇪🇺
*@FanaticRealist*
Here's a useful guide to the reality of the various trials and tribulations of the New Zealand economy in terms of its standing on stage of world trade. teara.govt.nz/en/overseas-trade-policy … ▶️
The authors are John Yeabsley (Senior Fellow, New Zealand Institute for Economic Research) and Chris Nixon (Senior Economist, New Zealand Institute for Economic Research). ▶️
Page 4 puts Helmer's quite ludicrous claims into context: NZ was hardly "cut off at the knees"; there was 12 years notice that the UK wanted to join the EEC, which is sufficient notice to reconfigure an economy and 6x the A50 withdrawal period… ▶️
… which, by the way, Helmer and his fellow UKIP goons says is far too long given they wanted the UK to simply cut itself off at the knees and leave the UK by the middle of 2017 without any negotiation. ▶️
Here's an interesting graphic from within the article displaying NZ's export performance to the EEC. Interesting that NZ's exports to Germany, France and Netherlands all increased in the Seventies because of the Luxembourg agreement. ▶️
But I wouldn't expect a lazy inadequate like Helmer to avail himself of actual objective data when there's an opportunity to blame the EEC/EU for something rather than wondering whether there were multiple factors at work. ⏹️
James Hobbs
@JamesWHobbs
So even with a transitional arrangement, there was real pain? Interesting.