One of the highest priorities of a BNP government, according to their policy statements, would be the introduction of a massive tax hike on imports. These tariff barriers, they claim, would “[protect] British companies from unfair foreign imports” – but in reality they’d drastically raise prices, decrease choice and limit quality. (You can read the details here).
The BNP are frustratingly vague about what sectors they’d protect, and what levels of tariffs they’d set. By disembling this way they can better promise to save everyone’s job, and avoid mention of the hard sacrifices that consumers and businesses would have to be made in return.
As an estimate, let’s assume they wished to take us back to the level of protection we saw in many countries at the beginning of the twentieth century. A typical average rate of protection across countries then was about 40% – that works out at an £80bn tax rise, or £1,300 a head, [1].
Although that would be bad enough, the tariffs would hit British companies too, especially the manufacturing companies the BNP claims it wants to save. Many of the vital components that British companies need would see their prices soaring, in the process sending many of those firms bust. Other countries would rapidly slap trade sanctions on Britain, and in the process we’d soon lose our export trade.
Economists have known since Adam Smith that tariffs are a nationalistic fallacy. Yet Nick Griffin stubbornly supports this policy. He wants impose the sort of old fashioned protectionism supported by Contintental dicators in the 1930s/40s. The doctrine of free trade across the world was invented in Britain, the principle remains the key to our island’s prosperity and it has enriched literally billions of people around the world.
Free trade has brought tumbling down the prices of food, clothes, furniture, cars and gadgets, allowing all of us to enjoy the luxuries that were once the sole preserve of the rich. It allows to experience the best of the world – French fashion, American software, German cars or Italian food. It keeps British companies competitive and the British economy dynamic.
Free trade is a British idea, and we should be proud of it. There’s nothing British about the BNP’s economic policies.
[1] We’re also assuming a 50% elasticity of demand here
Tags: economics, policy, tariff
“Well you might say that, but I couldn’t possibly say that.”
Linking to your own document isn’t exactly proof of anything, how about linking to where the BNP actually say they are going to do this?
Then apologies for sounding like a stuck record but exactly how much per family per year is the present mess costing us?
The last figure I heard was in excess of £2,000 & I am sure it will prove to be more.
What will the Conservatives do?
Head straight down the exact same path already being trodden!
Again it is this thing of whatever sin the BNP will supposedly do or have done in the past, is always trumped by what the Conservatives or Labour party have actually, provably done.
Your best bet is that the voters have memory spans of goldfish.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Well well ,and the bnp claim to be fighting for the working classes,now we know they re lieing,like the rest of them.Guy Fawkes you should have succeded.
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Bearing in mind the new commenting rules I’ll keep this as brief and on-subject as possible
BNP economic policy urges Britain to be as economically self-sufficient as possible, it seeks to emulate the economic model of the japanese.
A prime example being the nuclear industry, Britain led the way in developing nuclear energy, yet all new build reactors will be built by foreign companies – Eon, RWE, EdF etc. They will be built by low-paid foreign workers at the expense of the indigenous British workforce. Ultimately it is these foreign powers who will profit from British energy users.
How can that be good for the long-term British economy?
Another field Britain is letting go to the dogs is our military industry, instead of manufacturing guns, bombs, landmines and other weaponry to sell to other countries, our bleeding heart politicians would rather put our own people on the dole and these customers buy their arms from the french, russian, chinese or americans!
You seem to think – as your Cadbury article implies – that its a good thing for foreign companies to buy out our industry, pay off British workers, wind it down and move the whole operation overseas all for the sake of a few miserly shareholders making a quick buck!
Your false assertion of it costing £1,300 a head is balanced anyway by the BNP’s withdrawal of foreign aid, the EU, afghan war and countless other nonsensical wastes of money that this country is haemorrhaging at present.
Its simple economics – this country needs to become more of an exporter than an importer in order to balance the books, all the tories/labour/libs want to do to us as a nation is pull our pants down, make us bend over and let the whole world rape us, whilst a select few profiteer from it!
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Hi Davey –
thanks for your comment. I’ve tried to address your Japanese point in today’s post. Let me know you think.
Re: the iPhone. Of course it’s worth mentioning as we say that in the dossier, that it was designed by a British guy, Jonathan Ive, whose vision was then implemented by companies from over thirty countries across the world. A great example of the power of globalisation.
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PS. I had to laugh at your picture of the iPhone. In 1980’s Britain led the way producing cheap, good quality computers, these computers were more affordable and better quality than any foreign competitor, yet the tory government did nothing to protect our own home-grown computing industry!
So we ended up paying over the odds for japanese and american rubbish…
Now the americans have complete hegemonic domination over the computing industry thanks to tory free market policies!
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Theres nothing British about putting another country before your own.
http://www.redress.cc/stooges/redress20090209
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Davey, excellent points made. The main parties have been happy to let UK’s manufacturing and agricultural capabilities disappear as it suits their European agenda. The whole European deal is a form of socialism and will eventually collapse and where will that leave the people of this UK?
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Hang on, most of this posting makes no sense at all. To take one example, why would component prices soar if the UK adopted a policy of import substitution? You seem to be suggesting that other countries would apply tariffs to their exports of those components, something which makes no sense at all. A bit lilke the posting, come to think of it.
Secondly, this is supposed to be an anti-BNP blog, am I correct? I mean, you are not a bunch of BNPers in disguise are you? The point is that the party is putting forward what is basically the old Alternative Economic Strategy from Sailor Jim’s time. Now that policy is aimed at people in places like Salford and Nelson, places that have been done over by the maggot and globalisation.
Your critique of the policy is crap. Ergo the policy looks better and better to the people that it is aimed at. I mean if a bunch of Tory whiners, headed by a bum sucking scab, can’t pick holes in the thing then it must be kosher – see what I mean?
“Vote BNP – get a job” That was not your aim, but that is the message that you are sending out. Nice work boys.
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How much per person has been spent on the folly of Iraq and Afganistan, not to mention the bail out of financial institutions?
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[...] for the economy, and new jobs for the long term unemployed. The BNP’s trade barrier policy, discussed here, is part of the same plan, imposing a £80bn tax rise on [...]
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Noxi, NothingBritish and VoteNoToBNP, VoteNoToBNP. VoteNoToBNP said: Policy Focus #1 : Why the BNP’s tariffs could cost you £1300 « Nothing British: http://bit.ly/65YfCl via @addthis [...]
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Well thats cheap in comparison to the £40,000 debt the bankers have left every household,wake up you morons.
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