The trade secretary’s triumphant press conference this morning was a masterclass in political spin. He stood there, flanked by Union Jacks, calling the new Japan trade agreement a ‘sovereign triumph’. Let’s cut through the noise.
Sources confirm this is the first major deal negotiated entirely outside the EU’s framework. The government claims it will boost GDP by 0.07% and unlock £15.2 billion in bilateral trade. Sounds good, until you realise the EU deal already covered 95% of that. So what’s new? Preferential tariffs on Welsh lamb, Scottish salmon, and British cars. But here’s the kicker: Japanese carmakers get a phased reduction on exports to the UK, protecting their market share. Meanwhile, our financial services sector, the crown jewel, got no special access to Tokyo. The City loses.
Documents obtained by this paper show the deal’s ‘new’ provisions on digital trade and data flows are weak. They mirror the EU’s adequacy decision, and Japan can unilaterally withdraw them. That’s not sovereignty, that’s a ticking clock.
The trade secretary called it ‘historic’. I call it a photo-op for a government desperate for post-Brexit wins. The real test: will it stop the rot in British manufacturing? Unlikely. The numbers don’t add up, and the suits are smiling too hard.
We’ll be updating this story as more documents surface.
