Brexiteer MP who tweeted about ‘EU protectionist racket’ while clutching lemons left sour after being schooled by an expert The ‘tariff nerd’ received thousands of retweets after debunking the MP’s claims

An MP has been left with a sour taste in his mouth after his tweet stating that we paying more for our fruit thanks to the “EU protectionist racket” has been schooled by an expert on Twitter.

Pro-Brexit MP Daniel Kawczynski, who is a Conservative MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, tweeted that Brits would pay less for fruit and vegetables once the UK leaves the EU.

‘EU protectionist racket’

Alongside a picture of himself sternly holding four lemons in his local Tesco, Kawczynski tweeted: “Now at Tescos in Shrewsbury. Please remember EU protectionist racket means inefficient EU growers preferred to other non EU Mediterranean growers, due to massive tariffs imposed by EU. This leads to you paying more for your products! No more after March 2019! #Brexit”

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Now at Tescos in Shrewsbury. Please remember EU protectionist racket means inefficient EU growers preferred to other non EU Mediterranean growers,due to massive tariffs imposed by EU. This leads to you paying more for your products! No more after March 2019! #Brexit pic.twitter.com/XHBePeDJNy — Daniel Kawczynski (@DKShrewsbury) September 22, 2018

However, one self-declared “tariff nerd” decided to do some fact checking.

“Hi Daniel. I zoomed in on your photo, and couldn’t see clearly – but – at this time of year, almost certainly, those lemons are imported from South Africa,” wrote Jim Cornelius.

“They come in on a 0% tariff under the entry price system. Here’s some from Aldi.”

HI Daniel. I zoomed in on your photo, and couldn't see clearly – but – at this time of year, almost certainly, those lemons are imported from South Africa. They come in on a 0% tariff under the entry price system. Here's some from Aldi. pic.twitter.com/cMsfAaaqYY — Jim Cornelius???????????????? ???????????? (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018

But as Mr Cornelius went on to prove, the EU does not impose any tariffs on any fruit purchased from countries outside of the trading zone.

‘Again, the lemons are coming in on a 0% tariff’

The likes of the kiwis, limes and potatoes sold in supermarkets are bought from countries where free trade deals are already in place.

“And here’s some lemons and limes from Sainsbury’s,” he wrote, posting a picture of the pack.

And here's some lemons and limes from Sainsbury's. Again the lemons are coming in on a 0% tariff because we have an FTA with South Africa. The limes are from Mexico. They also come in on a 0% tariff, because we have an FTA with Mexico. pic.twitter.com/kQ8iEIdEc2 — Jim Cornelius???????????????? ???????????? (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018

“Again the lemons are coming in on a 0% tariff because we have an free trade agreement (FTA) with South Africa.”

He then spied some limes from the other side of the continent.

“These limes are from Mexico. They also come in on a 0% tariff, because we have an FTA with Mexico,” he tweeted.

“These Sainsbury oranges, also from South Africa, also on a 0% tariff because of the FTA with South Africa and the other South African Development Community countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Swaziland).”

These Sainsbury oranges, also from South Africa, also on a 0% tariff because of the FTA with South Africa and the other SADC countries (o Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Swaziland[Eswatini]). pic.twitter.com/waf2DfRs0n — Jim Cornelius???????????????? ???????????? (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018

“Some of the other oranges there, in Sainsbury’s, are from Egypt. We have an FTA with Egypt, so guess what? These oranges come in on a 0% tariff,” he continued.

Leaving no corner of the globe unturned, Mr Cornelius explained that the vast majority of non-EU fruit sold is already under a free trade agreement – meaning that prices will not drop after the UK leaves the EU.

“These blueberries here. They’re from Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is part of the ESA group of African countries. So under the ESA FTA they enter the UK on a 0% tariff too,” he tweeted.

“See these pineapples? They’re from Costa Rica. We have an FTA with Costa Rica. So they come in on a 0% tariff.”

By the way, in case you think I'm making this us – Here's the tariff schedule for pineapples from Costa Rica. https://t.co/gclTzQNcle pic.twitter.com/44eFOLe6xj — Jim Cornelius???????????????? ???????????? (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018

After Mr Cornelius finished his list, one Twitter user advised the MP to delete the tweet.

“You might want to delete this tweet now, Daniel,” wrote Steve Analyst.

“Or you can leave it there for the comedy value future generations will get from it.”

The MP has not responded to the string of tweets.