b'5.2. The size argument - Trade agreements Pro-EU commentators often restate the mythThis gets it wrong. Compare that with the that it is obligatory to be in a large tradingfacts. The USA (the worlds largest economy) bloc to sign trade agreements at all. Thiscurrently has free trade agreements with 20 is not true. For example, Switzerland hascountries: Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, had a bilateral Free Trade and EconomicColombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Partnership Agreement with Japan sinceEl Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, 2009.68The EU has only just managed this,Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, in 2019Panama, Peru, Singapore and South Korea.69The GDP of each of the 20 countries with Table 44 on the previous page sets out (as ofwhich the USA has FTAs is smaller, mostly far 2015) the four countries or regions with whichsmaller, than that of the UK.70the EU has trade agreements and Switzerland does not and compares them with the fiveThe worlds second-largest economy, China, countries with which Switzerland has tradecurrently has trade agreements with eight agreements and the EU does not. Switzerlandcountries and the Association of Southeast also has a trade agreement with Hong Kong;Asian Nations (ASEAN). As mentioned above, the EU does not.the eight include New Zealand, Iceland and Switzerland. China is also negotiating trade Further, New Zealand, Iceland andagreements with seven more countries and Switzerland have signed trade agreementsthe Gulf Cooperation Council. The combined with China in April 2008, April 2013 and JulyGDP of all of theseincluding the ASEAN 2013, respectively.countriesis smaller than that of the UK.71It is put forward by the EUs apologists thatThe concept that the UK needs to be part of the UKs economy is too small for the USA toa large trading bloclet alone bolt itself to enter into a trade agreement with the UK onan artificial political construct, with the veryits own. 95'