Jan252017

Scottish exports to UK four times higher than to rest of EU

Scottish Conservatives
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25 Jan 2017

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Official Scottish Government figures have today revealed that Scotland’s trade to the UK is four times the sum exported to the European internal market.

The figures show that, in 2015, Scotland’s trade with England, Wales and Northern Ireland amounted to £49.8 billion. This compared to £12.3 billion for the EU internal market.

The figures show that the USA is Scotland’s top international trading partner, with £4.6 billion exports.

Responding to the figures, Scottish Conservative Finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said:

“Once again, the facts are making it clear that our own Union of nations is Scotland’s essential union on which our prosperity depends.

“Europe is a vital market place for us too – which is why we want to see a comprehensive free trade deal with the EU following Brexit.

“But these figures show that to prioritise the EU market before our own Union – as the SNP wants – is absurd.

“Quite simply, thousands of jobs depend on our ability to trade within the UK without any barriers in our way.

“These are the Scottish Government’s own figures – which makes it all the more astonishing that the SNP is determined to ignore them by continuing its ideological pursuit of separation.

“The Nationalists would put jobs and trade at risk simply because they don’t like the United Kingdom.

“We have had it confirmed again: the UK is four times as important to Scotland as the EU in trade, and the SNP must recognise this immediately by ditching its unwanted and divisive plan for a second referendum on independence.”

The figures are available here:
http://news.gov.scot/news/scotlands-exports-increase

Jan252017

Shanghai railway police seize over 50 ivory products

East Asia
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Shanghai railway police arrested two men illegally carrying more than 50 ivory products, bought in Zimbabwe, as they were about to board a train.

A thin man, who appeared to have a disproportionally large stomach, raised the suspicions of security staff at Shanghai Railway station Tuesday night.

Inspectors found a long cloth bag, wrapped around his midriff, contained 10 ivory products and a further three strings of ivory products in his backpack.

Meanwhile, police captured the man’s companion, who attempted to flee, finding more than 30 ivory products in his suitcase.

The pair, from Taihe County, eastern China’s Anhui Province, flew to Shanghai from Zimbabwe where they worked for the last year, and planned to return to their hometown by train.

The thin man, surnamed Li, said he had made the cloth bag to hide the ivory products on his body, hoping to avoid police checks.

Zoologists with the local wildlife conservation association said that the products were made from African elephant ivory.