In or Out?

Originally posted by fab100 Luckily, the EU Commission has not yet started interfering in the dinghies we sail but given their way, can anyone imagine they'd be anything other than in hoc to the lobbyists for some Euro/French equivalent of Performance Sailcraft, creating enough regulation to put all our small but brilliant boat-builders out of business?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think they've made a start on the trailers, didn't I read that here?

Originally posted by fab100 Luckily, the EU Commission has not yet started interfering in the dinghies we sail

Has the Recreational Craft Directive been forgotten already?


Edited by JimC - 15 Jun 16 at 12:26pm

Originally posted by Presuming Ed chances of a better deal than that?

Excellent I should think.

Consider, for example, the chances of Volkswagen going bust if there's a trade war.

All these apocalyptic scenarios being made up are ludicrous, because if there were any sudden changes in trade regimes and all the rest of it then if anything german industry would be harder hit than ours.

Truth is no-one knows what will happen if we stay (ask the Greeks how much economic security they have) and no-one knows what will happen if we leave, and the arrant nonsense and crazy speculation being scattered around by *both* sides is equally valueless.

I suspect the most likely scenario in the event of a leave vote is that a whole new lot of concessions and status changes will be cobbled together, and somehow it will be decided that Britain will stay in the EU after all because of the changed circumstances and the vote will be quietly swept under the carpet. "You can check out any time you want..."

Edited by JimC - 15 Jun 16 at 1:52pm

Originally posted by Granite So the impact for a smallish boat builder who wants to sell boats to Europe might beStay: Design test and build boats to RCD then keep a copy of the technical file and add the CE markLeave: Design test and build boats to RCD then find someone within Europe to keep a copy of the technical file and sign off on it so that you can add the CE mark.Of course after leaving the brittish will no longer have any voice in how the RCD is updated. I also don't think that changing legeslation on trailers or boats being top of the Governments list for changes in the event of an exit so I expect that these and just about all the other manufacturing regulations based on EU directives staying exactly the same in the UK as the EU but we would no longer have any influance.As an example Norway has an almost identical equivalent to the EU machinery directive, because they are too small a market to be able to force suppliers to work to a different one.

People tend to forget with the politics of all this, but it is business men that sort these things out and if you are building the proverbial better mousetrap, then someone will find a way to buy it, it's only if they already have mouse traps better than yours that you'll have problem. So if RS want to sell boats in say holland which I'm sure they do, then dutch dealers will profit from it and sort out the local certification, and even now inside the EU if they don't want you to sell boats in their market they'll use their 'chamber of commerce' local legislation to prevent it as they have in Germany for many years throughout the period we've been in the EU. Being in the EU hasn't prevented anti competitive processes being levelled at us, they even took bloody JCB to court for doing exactly the same as every German car manufacturer. Business isn't about politics, it's about who and or what you know and which lawyers you brief in which regard.

Improved terms? Yeah, right. 

Edited by Presuming Ed - 15 Jun 16 at 4:01pm