MEP Alfred Sant is reported (February 1) quoting a study claimed to reveal that Malta would be the only EU state affected negatively by the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and the EU.

I have just imported, for personal use, a year’s supply of a patented food supplement (unavailable in the EU) costing $499 (inclusive of US postage) and had to pay €74 Malta Customs duty and VAT. As everybody knows, one would have to pay nothing if it had been posted in the EU.

One cannot help remember a similar situation here in Malta with duty payable on all foreign goods (to protect inferior Maltese stuff) before we become EU members – an obvious advance for us but which Sant had recommended against and had actually created a political crisis over interpretation of the referendum result which was resolved only by a general election.

Free trade and socialism apparently don’t mix.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.