Martin referenced The Sunday Times front-page headline recently (12 August) which read “No deal will hike food prices by 12%”.
The article by the newspaper said “tariffs on imports from the EU could include cheese, up by 44%, beef up by 40% and chicken up 22%”.
It quoted the chairman of a “leading supermarket” who “warned that food products imported from the EU would be hit by an average tariff of 22%” and it reported “senior executives from the big four supermarkets” had made these predictions in “briefings to the Treasury”.
Martin claimed the briefings echo the “misleading” 2016 statement of the then British Retail Consortium chairman Richard Baker who told the Evening Standard: “Failure to reach a trade deal would see tariffs… of 12% on clothes…and up to 27% on meat.”
He also mentioned then chairman of Sainsbury’s David Tyler, who told The Sunday Times in 2017: “If we don’t get a deal and [instead] move to World Trade Organisation rules, we could face an average tariff of 22% on foodstuffs we import from Europe.”
The JDW chief then said: “As Malcolm Walker, founder of food chain Iceland, said, these stories are ‘b******s’.”
Sensible decision
Martin added that the only way prices for EU imports can rise post-Brexit is if the UK Government decides to impose taxes, also known as tariffs, on them – “a sure-fire way to lose an election”, Martin claimed as “the EU has no say in the UK’s import taxes after we leave”.
Provided the Government takes the “sensible decision” to opt for free trade, there would be no extra tariffs/taxes on EU imports, he said.
In fact, Martin added that the result of the free-trade option would be a reduction in prices in pubs and shops, and claims the EU today charges these invisible taxes on wine, rice, coffee, oranges and more than 12,000 other non-EU products.
He also claimed that lower prices boost living standards but, in this case, they do so without affecting Government income, since taxes on non-EU products today are collected by the UK and are paid to Brussels – price reductions in shops would cost the Treasury nothing.
In taking the free-trade path, the UK would be following in the 'successful approach' of economies such as Singapore, Switzerland, Israel, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, all of which have cut import taxes, according to Martin.
He listed other “benefits of free trade, disparagingly called ‘no deal’ by Remain spin doctors”, including the UK regaining control of its fishing waters where he claimed almost two thirds (60%) of fish are landed by EU boats.
He added that the UK would also avoid the payment of £39bn to Brussels, which “Government lawyers have said there is no legal obligation to pay”.
False claims
Martin added: “So why are the supermarkets making false claims about price rises and why are they not fighting to reduce prices? Pro-Remain ideology and ignorance are probably the answer.
“John Allan, chairman of Tesco, like Private Frazer of Dad’s Army, is renowned for his gloomy views. He said before the referendum that ‘Brexit would ruin small firms’ and more recently, that leaving the EU ‘too quickly would be a mess’.
“And Allan is now president of the Confederation of Business Industry, the employers’ organisation, which strongly advocated the UK’s participation in the disastrous exchange rate mechanism, the Euro and staying in the EU.
“Martin Scicluna, current chairman of Sainsbury’s, was previously chairman of Deloitte UK which, along with fellow accountants PWC, implored the public to vote Remain. Indeed, Deloitte Digital, part of the same company, is today urging a second referendum.”
The JDW chief claimed the big supermarkets were playing a dangerous game as the public expects companies to do their best for customers by lowering prices when opportunities arise.
He added: “By participating in inaccurate scare stories, supermarkets appear keener on maintaining close ties to the EU, an obsession of the elite, rather than on low prices. ‘Pay more at the big four’ is the subliminal message.
“The approach is bad news for shareholders and customers of the big four, but is great for Aldi, Lidl, Iceland, Amazon and other ‘disruptors’ since they see the benefit of free trade as opportunities, not threats.
“Once again, elite Remainers fail to understand the pub is collectively far more intelligent than they are, which is why democracy works after all.”