Alex Singleton

We take soap for granted these days, but, in Britain, the government once restricted its availability. In the seventeenth century, the government interfered with the soap market, imposing quotas and geographical restrictions on production, at one point only allowing production in London and Bristol. In 1712, Queen Anne introduced a tax on soap, and an […]

Behind the scenes in Brussels, European steel manufacturers are lobbying for “trade defence instruments” to be used against Chinese steel imports. It is being claimed that China is dumping its steel in the European market. This is a totally unjustifiable claim not least because China has a 10% tax on its steel exports.
European steel-makers are […]

One should never underestimate the importance of language in the political arena. Here in Brussels, the term “trade defence instruments” is bandied about as though it is though such instruments are good for Europe’s economies. Elsewhere, people tend to use the term “anti-dumping”, but anti-dumping has a record of failure so obvious that a different […]

Working out how to use fewer resources is an in-built feature of the market economy - because fewer resources means a lower cost. Green campaigners work most effectively when they combine an argument for being green with an argument for saving money.
GreenGuardian.com has an Economically Preferable Purchasing Guide. It makes a many worthwhile points, but […]

The Wall Street Journal Europe’s excellent Kyle Wingfield gave a speech this morning in Brussels to International Leaders Summit, organised by Croatia’s Adriatic Institute. He was upbeat on Europe’s tax situation, saying that the trend line for the EU is going in the right direction. There may, he said, be some worrying specifics, for example […]

The Centre for the New Europe hosted an excellent discussion here in Brussels yesterday on US protectionism of online casinos. The United States opted into a protocol on trade covering gambling at the World Trade Organization, but is now restricting trade. While US consumers may buy from a number of domestic online gambling sites such […]

The European Commission today announced that it will not renew quotas on Chines textiles imports when the current quotas expire at the end of the year. But, to appease protectionist voices in certain member states, a one-year fudge has been introduced whereby exports from China will be “tracked” by a “double checking system”. What this […]

General Electric’s founder, Thomas Edison, is best known as the inventor of the incandescent light bulb back in the 19th Century. It was a major step forward which has enhanced the life of billions of people. But now, new more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs are consigning the incandescent bulbs to the history books. So it […]