Is it time to consider protectionism in the UK market?
The US government has formally included a clause in the various rescue packages which are ongoing in the country, which will see a return to "buying US products". This particular clause was inserted by Barack Obama as a means of ensuring that the US workforce and US companies are first in line when new contracts and new business is handed out. This is in complete contrast to the UK government's position with severe criticism of the idea of protectionism even though many countries across Europe appear to be considering this position on an informal basis.
The problem with the US instigating a form of protectionism is the fact that other countries will need to respond in the same manner in order to retain as much of their business as possible. However, those in Europe may find it very tricky to go down the American route because of various legal issues and treaties which had been signed by the member states. As we covered in one of our recent post, this has brought Gordon Brown back into the spotlight and in particular his rush to sign off the UK to the latest EU treaty.
It is widely known that many of UK public felt robbed of a referendum on the subject of an EU treaty prior to the UK signing up to the agreement and this is something which could come back to haunt Gordon Brown.
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