EU Referendum - How will you vote?

[I1L2T3]

So just clear this up if you will. Most Ford Transit vans are sold within the EU. In July 2013 Ford closed the Southampton plant building Ford Transit vans. The UK being within the EU. They moved production to Turkey, which to my understanding is outside the EU. WHY?

 

Turkey is in a customs union with the EU. Turkey has been an associate member of the EC since the 1960s and is a prospective applicant for full membership.

 

So you understanding is kind of right and wrong at the same time. Turkey isn't part of the EU but enjoys many of the free trade aspects of being part of it. All the shots are called by the EU though.

[Bigthumb]

 

It would be far cheaper in terms of labour and land costs to operate out of Asia. The ONLY reason they operate from within the EU is to avoid import taxes. So logically if we were to leave the EU that SOLE purpose for being located here is gone so they will leave. I think it's you who needs to go look at logic.

 

No it isn't. The reason that Japanese car manufacturers set up car plants in the UK was to circumvent import quotas that we imposed when the markets were being swamped with imported Japanese cars. There is no import duty imposed on cars from Japan and the Japanese impose no duty on cars from the UK.

 

You clearly missed this last week.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/import-quota-for-japanese-cars-raised-20-new-ec-agreement-expected-to-push-uk-prices-down-for-all-motor-manufacturers-1452846.html

 

Import quota for Japanese cars raised 20%: New EC agreement expected to push UK prices down for all motor manufacturers

 

JAPANESE car imports into Britain are to be allowed to rise by 20 per cent this year to more than 200,000 in a move that could help force down prices of all manufacturers.

 

The increase, announced yesterday in Tokyo as part of an EC-wide agreement on Japanese car imports will allow Japanese-built models to take 12 per cent of the UK new car market.

 

Together with increased production at Japanese transplant factories in Britain and new EC rules requiring car makers to publish Community-wide price comparisons, this will exert downward pressure on prices.

 

Under the EC-Japan agreement, Japanese imports into the Community will fall by 9.4 per cent this year to 1.089 million. The agreement, reached after lengthy negotiations, is based on a predicted 6.5 per cent decline in the EC market this year though some manufacturers believe it could fall by up to 10 per cent.

 

Japanese imports into Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland will presumably fall sharply. But their market share in the five member states that exercised quotas or voluntary restraints up until the end of last year will rise significantly. In France, Italy, Spain and Portugal the increase will be about 10 per cent, but imports into Britain, the only EC car market expected to rise this year, will increase from 168,375 in 1992 to 202,800.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Bigthumb

[sgtkate]

So just clear this up if you will. Most Ford Transit vans are sold within the EU. In July 2013 Ford closed the Southampton plant building Ford Transit vans. The UK being within the EU. They moved production to Turkey, which to my understanding is outside the EU. WHY?

 

Well 3 reasons. One, sales of the transit van in Western Europe dropped by over 50% in 5 years up to the start of 2014 so the offset given by import taxes into the EU was becoming less of a benefit.

 

Two, Southampton plant was running at just 40% of max capacity due to the reduced demand. To scale back that plant wasn't feasible as most overheads were fixed. Turkey already had infrastructure to handle the manufacture of the Transit van, whereas Southampton was not equipped to handle building other vehicles.

 

Thirdly, it was given a huge pay out to do so by the EU ironically to assist Turkeys economy ahead if a proposed plan for Turkey's entry into the EU. Not the EUs finest hour I'd say on the last point.

[Bigthumb]

Well 3 reasons. One, sales of the transit van in Western Europe dropped by over 50% in 5 years up to the start of 2014 so the offset given by import taxes into the EU was becoming less of a benefit.

 

Two, Southampton plant was running at just 40% of max capacity due to the reduced demand. To scale back that plant wasn't feasible as most overheads were fixed. Turkey already had infrastructure to handle the manufacture of the Transit van, whereas Southampton was not equipped to handle building other vehicles.

 

Thirdly, it was given a huge pay out to do so by the EU ironically to assist Turkeys economy ahead if a proposed plan for Turkey's entry into the EU. Not the EUs finest hour I'd say on the last point.

 

Well if what you say is true it is just another reason for quitting the EU, if as you suggest they can close down a car plant in the UK as a bribe to a country that isn't even a member. It also seems that being outside the EU is no problem to a motor manufacturer at all as Transit sales were actually up 54% last year.

So if the EU is prepared to offer almost unlimited finance to a lame duck like Greece to remain in the EU and the Eurozone, and offer huge bungs like car factories to Turkey in order to get them into the EU, just what would they offer to a growing economy like the UK in order that we don't vote to escape?

 

Lets just get one thing clear. The UK referendum is being watched by many folk around Europe equally keen to get away from the FIFA like governance by bribary. If we vote to get out of Europe it could rock the foundations so that the whole shambles comes crashing down.

[Alan Ladd]

Well if what you say is true it is just another reason for quitting the EU, if as you suggest they can close down a car plant in the UK as a bribe to a country that isn't even a member. It also seems that being outside the EU is no problem to a motor manufacturer at all as Transit sales were actually up 54% last year.

So if the EU is prepared to offer almost unlimited finance to a lame duck like Greece to remain in the EU and the Eurozone, and offer huge bungs like car factories to Turkey in order to get them into the EU, just what would they offer to a growing economy like the UK in order that we don't vote to escape?

 

Lets just get one thing clear. The UK referendum is being watched by many folk around Europe equally keen to get away from the FIFA like governance by bribary. If we vote to get out of Europe it could rock the foundations so that the whole shambles comes crashing down.

 

And if the "shambles comes crashing down" then what? Do you seriously want to go back to the pre war situation? Do you want a Maginot line? The re surgence of nationalism?

 

Remember that the majority of these countries have no long term culture of democracy. The soil of Europe is soaked by the blood of millions fighting each other and for what?

 

Reform, yes, termination never, for the sake of you your children and your grand children. STAY IN.

[apelike]

You would need a reliable supply of low skilled low waged workers too.

 

Why? as we already have plenty of them.

 

---------- Post added 11-06-2015 at 18:13 ----------

 

Reform, yes, termination never, for the sake of you your children and your grand children. STAY IN.

 

For their sake people should vote NO.

 

The lesson from previous history shows that the bigger things get the harder they fall and that also applies to the Euro and the EU.

 

The EU will soon completely collapse in on itself because of waste, bureaucracy and stupidity. Free trade is not really free if we have to pay £billions in contributions to be part of it. The EU controls how much we charge on goods tax and we have had to increase VAT to bring our taxation in line with theirs. They have just announce that they want small Cider produces who were exempt from tax to now start paying it. That only shows how much we are becoming controlled by them.

 

Here is another example:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/nov/25/new-eu-vat-regulations-threaten-micro-businesses

 

We can survive, as we did before joining, and need to jump ship before it sinks.

 

Just to add. We are already seeing a resurgence of Nationalism and thats directly down to EU politics.

Edited June 11, 2015 by apelike

[retep]

A lot of them are going to lose a lot of money when they are forced to sell up abroad.

 

Why would they be forced to sell up?

[loraward]

For certain people there is no choice but to leave them unemployed.

 

It's not about what you eat it's about how much you pay for it. We can't sustain ourselves from the UK so we have to import. If we leave the EU then we have no guarantee cheap imports can continue.

 

That why we need policies to slowing reduce the population to a more sustainable level, and the free movement of people is sending the population in the wrong direction. We will be able to buy food from abroad for as long as they can profuse more than they need and that won't be forever.

[I1L2T3]

Why would they be forced to sell up?

 

Because they might no longer have any legal right to reside in the country.

 

---------- Post added 11-06-2015 at 19:21 ----------

 

That why we need policies to slowing reduce the population to a more sustainable level, and the free movement of people is sending the population in the wrong direction. We will be able to buy food from abroad for as long as they can profuse more than they need and that won't be forever.

 

Leaving the EU won't guarantee to shrink the population.

[janie48]

I vote to stay in the EU. Whatever may be wrong with it, I believe that it is fulfilling its purpose to prevent war between its member states.

That's a good point, and one of the main reasons I will be voting to stay.

 

I agree with what Dave Milliband said on this issue "To leave now, would be like resigning from the world".

We shouldn't even be having a referendum.