Tuesday's announcement of the loss of more than 1,400 jobs in the UK, Bombardier has revived a debate about economic nationalism.
The crux of the matter is this: it is the right of the British government in the pursuit of offering best value for taxpayers in the award of a £ 1.4 billion contract to build and maintain 1200 rail cars in service London Thameslink commuter train to a consortium led by Siemens of Germany, or should have opted for a less attractive alternative that would have guaranteed more British jobs?
At a time when the austerity measures bite hard, it is likely that most taxpayers prefer the tender offering best value for money.
While sympathetic to the plight of workers who face the prospect of losing their livelihoods, most citizens already feeling the impact probably resent subsidizing manufacturing is not competitive.
On the other hand, European neighbors like France and Germany are strong proponents of their manufacturing, which are strongly protected. Failed or not the UK do the same?
Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond recognizes the imbalance and suggests that in future the UK could do a better job of structuring procurement contracts to improve the chances of domestic bidders. But in this case, the government is in a hopeless situation.
The UK can afford a policy of economic nationalism? After all, is an island nation faces many fiscal challenges and whose influence on the international stage is open to discussion. For the UK, the price of economic nationalism may be too high.
Tags:
The crux of the matter is this: it is the right of the British government in the pursuit of offering best value for taxpayers in the award of a £ 1.4 billion contract to build and maintain 1200 rail cars in service London Thameslink commuter train to a consortium led by Siemens of Germany, or should have opted for a less attractive alternative that would have guaranteed more British jobs?
At a time when the austerity measures bite hard, it is likely that most taxpayers prefer the tender offering best value for money.
While sympathetic to the plight of workers who face the prospect of losing their livelihoods, most citizens already feeling the impact probably resent subsidizing manufacturing is not competitive.
On the other hand, European neighbors like France and Germany are strong proponents of their manufacturing, which are strongly protected. Failed or not the UK do the same?
Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond recognizes the imbalance and suggests that in future the UK could do a better job of structuring procurement contracts to improve the chances of domestic bidders. But in this case, the government is in a hopeless situation.
The UK can afford a policy of economic nationalism? After all, is an island nation faces many fiscal challenges and whose influence on the international stage is open to discussion. For the UK, the price of economic nationalism may be too high.
Tags:
- Bombardier,
- Philip Hammond,
- Siemens,
- Thameslink,
- trains,
- UK
No comments:
Post a Comment