You know why the EU hasn't imposed a tougher tariff? Because the UK keeps vetoing any attempt to. :O:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a6962446.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a6964476.html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a8da356a-f...83b5e52db.html

^I see you must be a FT subscriber. :)

Hey what happen I got a please stand by? Is this a X-Flies case? :03:

:hmmm: Huh, unexpected, I was able to view it earlier, apparently you can view a couple of articles for free and then have to subscribe.
Thanks Obama.

Well, it's in the previous two articles and it's in this one too:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/...ur-with-china/

In short, we've been blocking attempts by the EU to raise tariffs in Chinese steel for two reasons: One, we want cheap steel and don't care where it comes from, and Two, we want Chinese money...as much of it as we can get.
So it's not an EU problem in this instance, it's a UK problem. :03:

Well all i see is whatever you blame on the EU has its roots in your own UK politics :haha:

But we are no different. Don't let facts interfere with our opinion :shifty:

Never let facts get in the way of a good old fashioned rant. :03:

Did he leave you off his last party list throwing the last wild party trashing the white house and blaming it on Big Foot? If so I will ring him and tell him off.

Oh for http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/s...c/censored.gif sake!

Coal from Poland and France now Chinese steel is cheaper than ours, how the hell can that be when it comes from over seas for http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/s...c/censored.gif sake! I bet the Tories were behind it all without looking up the info as I got my hands full on other matters.

BTW: Not bashing you Oberon just venting off at the government. :)

Relations between myself and the US government have not been the same since that one time at Roswell... :doh:


No bashes taken, I understand your frustration. A lot of it is down to the respective overheads of the companies involved, which comes down to taxes and operating costs, chief among which is wages. Polish coal mines and Chinese steel manufacturers don't spend as much on wages and other operating costs as we do.

Take a look at this chart, it's a bit out of date since the Polish currency is still in zlotys, whereas I'm pretty sure they're on Euros now, but you get the gist of the situation:
http://www.worldsalaries.org/miner.shtml

When you factor on top of that the less stringent safety protocols (the type of which has seen numerous deaths in China over the past decade alone) which means that mining companies have to spend less on making their employees safe, as well as paying less to their employees, whilst still being able to make it an attractive wage because the whole cost of living in that country is lower, as a result the mining company or steel manufacturer can afford to sell its goods at a lower rate than those who are spending more money on their workers and their safety.
That's the primary reason that we've lost pretty much all of our primary and secondary industries (farming, mining, manufacturing) because other countries perform the same tasks at a cheaper rate and we are able to bulk ship it in at a low rate. Of course, if something were to happen to our ability to ship things in, then we're be royally http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/s...c/censored.gif! I believe it was mentioned a few years back that this country generally only has at most six months reserve supply of food.
But it's not just us, if you look at most western nations you'll see that the vast majority of them have moved away from primary and secondary industries into teritary industries, the service sector, and that's probably the biggest employer in this country by far. It's unbalanced, but it seems to be a natural progression. As a nation moves from being a Less Economically Developed Country to a More Economically Developed Country it moves from being Primary Industry focused, to Secondary Industry focused to Teritary Industry focused, China is at the Secondary Industry stage, Britain at the Teritary Industry, and somewhere like Zanzibar relies on its clove industry in agriculture.
There are outliers though, tourism is a big industry in many LEDCs, and that's a teritary industry, and China is still heavily into mining and farming, so it's still got one foot firmly into the primary sector, but its secondary sector grows by the year, and I imagine that as the population in the coastal cities continues to increase then so will the teritary sector.

In short, blame the free market, it's a double edged sword, on one hand we can buy cheap products, food from Aldi for example, but on the other hand it hurts local industry. Hence why there's been a big thing in the food selling industry about 'buying local', which is all well and good...if you can afford it.
Still, it's not all bad, some industries are finding it more expensive to operate abroad and come back to the UK...the beloved Pot Noodle, for example, was manufactured in China until a few years ago. :03:
Sadly, steel manufacturing isn't one of them. :/\\!!

^ I agree Oberon the government likes not to talk about certain facts and talk others up. Prime example of this is the service sector, I got 20 plus coffee shops here in my town come on that is plain daft not forgetting the Banks...GRRRR.

Apart from the service sector the rest are moving slowly forward or stagnate or going backwards but as long as the Banks are doing well George Osborn will be grinning from ear to ear. Hey George has that ponzi housing right to buy coming along....No answer.

Why the hell this government wants to kiss China on the bottom is plain crazy, China bought up all that bad debt and is now facing big problems trying to off load it. As for Aldi never shopped there and after watching that CH4 investigation no way would I shop there.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35965499

I think Labour will do moderately well up North in the areas that were hit by flooding early this year. As for the rest of the country they could do alright as long as a scandal does not hit them like the one hitting Toffboy at the moment.

All will be revealed soon enough.

Reading a article about the next London Mayor in the Evening Standard it looks clear Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan are the only two front runners and they are neck and neck. This one is going to be very close this time.

http://www.standard.co.uk/business/w...-a3218261.html

Don't tell George the Axe man that. :03:

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/...psceygl3tt.jpg
"Dont worry Dave THAT money is save with me until all this tax evasion thing blows over "

PM: £9m EU leaflets 'money well spent'

Most definitely :yep:

Nothing like spending tax payers money on your set agenda ToffBoy.

Total disgrace.