Top bank expert in sexism row over choice of word
PRIME MINISTER Theresa May’s Brexit trade strategy came under attack yesterday in a damning report which found that British and United States commerce officials are “sceptical” that a significant deal can be forged between the two nations.
The report by Harvard University academics, including former Shadow Chancellor and ex-Morley and Outwood MP Ed Balls, warns that the kind of free trade agreement likely to be on offer would deliver “relatively limited” advantages to the UK and demand “politically unacceptable” concessions.
It came as the Prime Minister was forced to defend her Brexit strategy in the Commons after Jeremy Corbyn said she should quit if she cannot resolve deep Cabinet splits over customs arrangements which go to the heart of the future trade relationship the UK is seeking with the EU.
The Labour leader joked that Mrs May’s commitment to maintaining trade with “as little friction as possible” could have been about “the next Cabinet meeting”.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Mrs May made clear she remains committed to leaving the EU customs union, which allows tariff-free trade between members while setting common external duties, in order to strike free trade deals with the likes of the US, seen as a Brexit prize.
In a message to Tory rebels who want to stay in the customs union, and Brexiteers who have dismissed the difficulty in finding a new model which maintains a soft Irish border, she added: “It is difficult. There will be some who will say actually, forget about an independent trade policy. That is not the position of this Government. There may be some who say don’t worry about the Northern Irish border. That is not the position of this Government.”
It came as the Harvard report warned that “sharks” on the US trade team will expect Britain to concede more than was demanded from the EU in the failed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks.
A UK-US free trade deal has been touted by prominent Brexiteers as one of the principal benefits of withdrawal from the EU, and failure to deliver would be “a significant political setback” for the Government, said the report.
But the Donald Trump’s administration maintains an “unclear” level of interest in such a deal, with the UK a relatively small partner and the President focused on “levelling the playing field” in North America or with bigger partners such as China.
The report added: “Moreover, Trump’s mercantilist approach raises questions about US enthusiasm for negotiating any trade deal, unless such a deal is demonstrably to the advantage of US companies.”
Cutting tariffs on agricultural products will be a key US objective, the report predicted.
And it warned that, while opening the UK market to cheap US food would cut prices for the consumer, it would “destroy large parts of British farming”.
Other US priorities would include relaxations on food safety rules and labelling, genetically modified crops, data privacy and access for US healthcare firms to the NHS, all likely to “spark strong public opposition in the UK”.
On key UK demands for better access in service sectors like higher education, finance and the creative industries, “significant concessions from the US ... look unlikely”.
“The conclusion is clear: a USUK FTA is only going to happen if the UK makes concessions that are unlikely to be politically acceptable and in any case, promises relatively limited upside for UK business.
“However, the importance of such a deal to the overall Brexit narrative (and specifically, to the case for leaving the customs union) means that the Government is likely to continue to behave as if negotiating an attractive deal with the US remains a realistic possibility.”
Meanwhile, Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, Mrs May’s de facto deputy, suggested it could take “weeks” for the Brexit “war Cabinet” to find its way through the current customs impasse.
The Government announced it will produce a white paper including “detailed, ambitious and precise” explanations of its positions, with less than 11 months left before the UK quits the EU. BANK OF England deputy governor Ben Broadbent has apologised for his “poor choice of language” amid a backlash after he described the UK economy as “menopausal”.
Mr Broadbent – who is also on the Bank’s team of interest ratesetters – has been accused of sexism after using the word to describe the current UK slowdown and slump in productivity.
He said: “I’m sorry for my poor choice of language in an interview with the yesterday and regret the offence caused. I was explaining the meaning of the word ‘climacteric’, a term used by economic historians to describe a period of low productivity growth during the 19th century.
“Economic productivity is something which affects every one of us, of all ages and genders.” The interview in
saw him suggest the UK economy was entering a “menopausal” era after a peak in productivity from the digital revolution.
Mr Broadbent indicated that a “pause” between two technological leaps forward, akin to one experienced by late-Victorian industrialists from steam to electricity, could be behind the slump in productivity that has been blamed for stagnating wages. It sparked a raft of angry tweets and comes as an embarrassment to the Bank, which has sought to promote gender diversity within its ranks.
The Bank has already come under fire after revealing a 25 per cent pay gap, with its male employees paid almost a quarter more than their female colleagues. There is only one woman on the Bank’s nine-strong ratesetting committee – Silvana Tenreyro.
Twitter user Pamela Wales said Mr Broadbent’s comment was “outrageous and insulting”, adding: “No wonder there is such a large gender pay gap with attitudes like these.”
Another, @commuterlaydee, said: “Absolutely shameful comment by Ben Broadbent. The language HAS to change.”
Mr Broadbent sits on the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, which recently stunned the City by holding interest rates amid grim forecasts for the economy. A former economist at Goldman Sachs, he is considered a potential successor to the Bank’s governor Mark Carney, when his term ends in a year’s time.
Britain’s productivity woes pose a headache for the Government and economists, and consensus on the cause remains elusive.