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The Times: The force of gravity on Britain's trade
18 January 2019
But economists at the LSE argue that Mr Minford made no allowance for differences in quality among the manufactured goods being considered (Economists for Brexit: A Critique, Thomas Sampson, Swati Dhingra, Gianmarco Ottaviano, and John Van Reenen.) This is the crux of whether or not the EU can be seen as protectionist in manufactured goods. If goods of the same quality cost more in the EU than outside it, then there is a strong case for calling the bloc a protectionist one. But if prices are higher inside the bloc because they are of a higher quality, and because they are safer and more reliable than those on sale outside, then it is much harder to argue that the EU is protectionist.