It's Three Weeks Till Brexit And The International Trade Secretary Just Forgot The Name Of The World Trade Organization

Everything is fine.

With just 22 days to go until the UK leaves the EU – and the customs union – there’s a lot of responsibility resting on the shoulders of international trade secretary Liam Fox.

So people were less than impressed when the man in charge of striking crucial post-Brexit trade deals momentarily forgot the name of the World Trade Organization (WTO) – one of the world’s most important trading bodies.

Given the fact the UK will be forced to trade under WTO rules if it crashes out of the EU without a deal on March 29, you might think it would be at the forefront of Fox’s mind.

β€œToday I am in Switzerland visiting the World Trading Organization,” he wrote on Thursday in an emoji-packed tweet.

Twitter

β€œLeaving the EU presents the UK with a golden opportunity to reshape our position in the world, and our work @WTO will not only benefit British businesses but all the people of the United Kingdom across the United Kingdom.”

Needless to say, it didn’t take long for people to pick up on the Cabinet minister’s mistake.

Love to be a member of the World Trading Organisation pic.twitter.com/9YOdCm8Y5m

β€” Thomas Colson (@tpgcolson) March 7, 2019

What the "World Trading Organization" Liam? Are you thinking of Trotter's Independent Trading by any chance?

β€” πŸ”Ά Barry Smith #FBPE πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί (@BarryNL) March 7, 2019

Don't want to alarm anybody but the Secretary of State for International Trade doesn't know the name of the World Trade Organization https://t.co/PMLbIKqRyM

β€” James Felton (@JimMFelton) March 7, 2019

He may actually be at the World Trading Organization which is a small lock-up in the backstreets full of knock-off Toblerones from a geezer in Geneva

β€” graham hind (@ossa123) March 7, 2019

At least this guy was on hand to put the blunder into perspective.

A piffling 0.5 on the Grayling scale.

β€” David (@cgullman) March 7, 2019

Thankfully, Fox noticed his error (or his Twitter mentions made it impossible to miss) and shared a fresh tweet.

Today I am in πŸ‡¨πŸ‡­ visiting the World Trade Organization.

Leaving the EU presents the UK with a golden opportunity to reshape our position in the 🌎, and our work @WTO will not only benefit British businesses but all the people of πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§.

β€” Dr Liam Fox MP (@LiamFox) March 7, 2019

Guess we can all rest easy now – Brexit preparations are clearly all in hand.

Close

What's Hot