Britain to trade under WTO rules if Europe rejects Brexit deal

Editor: Johnathan Meyers | Tactical Investor

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Britain to trade under WTO rules if Europe rejects Brexit deal

But the government’s Brexit minister David Jones told the House of Commons that if London and Brussels cannot come to an agreement, Britain will fall back on other trading arrangements.

Pressed further, Jones said: “If there were no agreement at all, which I think is an extremely unlikely scenario, ultimately we would be falling back on World Trade Organisation arrangements.”

Politicians in the Commons are discussing details of the government bill to pave the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger the Article 50 process to kickstart Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Opposition members of parliament (MPs) have put forward a string of amendments in the hope of winning concessions from May’s government in the Brexit process.

One concession announced during Tuesday’s session at Westminster came from Jones who said MPs and members of the House of Lords will be given a vote covering not only the EU withdrawal arrangements but also the future relationship with Brussels.

“I can confirm that the government will bring forward a motion on the final agreement, to be approved by both Houses of Parliament before it is concluded. We expect and intend that this will happen before the European Parliament debates and votes on the final agreement,” said Jones. Full Story

What would happen if Britain left the EU with no deal?

Hardline Brexiteers are happy with this idea. They say Britain would do fine trading with the EU on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms, like most third countries. And they would be pleased to junk all EU laws and regulations in what some call a clean Brexit. Yet because there has been only limited preparation for a no-deal Brexit, it is likely to be disorderly.

EU and WTO rules would require customs inspections and tariffs on much bilateral trade, which would cause long queues at Dover and disrupt just-in-time supply chains, as well as imposing a hard border in Ireland. Britain would fall out of EU regulatory bodies for things like air safety, medicines, nuclear materials, food and car inspection, and would not have time to create new regulators of its own. That means aircraft might not be allowed to fly and radio isotopes for cancer treatments might not be imported, while both food imports and car exports could be interrupted. Full Story

May told WTO will turn UK into an ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE after Brexit

The study comes as foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned the EU that it will be making a “terrible geostrategic mistake” if it forces a no deal which means Britain will opt for the World Trade Deal through WTO membership.

Mr Hunt warned that the UK and EU face a “messy divorce” because of Brussels intransigence while he held talks with his Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl.

Mr Burrage’s work appears to confirm that Britain will thrive if the EU forces a no deal.

The advantage of a World Trade Deal on WTO terms is that the UK is not bound by EU rules or committed to agree to its red tape and regulations, while it is able to strike lucrative free trade deals around the world.

Mr Burrage, a member of Economists for Free Trade, has specifically attacked assessments made by the Treasury on a so called “no deal” which he branded “dishonest, incompetent and shamelessly partisan” for suggesting it was the worst option

Instead Mr Burrage has argued that going to WTO rules should be considered the “best option.”

He points out that exports by the UK to 111 countries outside the EU under WTO rules grew by 2.9 percent between 1993 and 2015.

This was more than three times greater than the 0.9 percent growth in exports to EU countries in the same period and one percent higher than trade with the 62 countries which have trade agreements with the EU. Full Story

Different Views

Britain to trade under WTO rules if Europe rejects Brexit deal

What would happen if Britain left the EU with no deal?

May told WTO will turn UK into an ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE after Brexit

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