Preparing for Brexit
Fascinating roundtable discussion today on the DIT's Trade Agreement Continuity Programme. This session held with Northern Powerhouse Export Champions made clear that significant progress is being made towards replacing ALL EU free trade agreements with an UK equivalent in preparation for us leaving the EU, whether at the end of the Implementation Period, or earlier, depending on events.
This work will provide the certainty that businesses need so that they can continue to trade on the same basis as before. In fact it is likely to put UK busineses in a better position than at present, as the UK is engaged in negotiations with countries that do not currently have Free Trade Agreements, Economic Partnership Agreements or Association Agreements. The dramatic ramping up of the departments capability to manage the plethora of agreements underway in such a short space of time has the additional implication of giving the UK the most experienced Trade Agreement team.
Could anything go wrong? of course it could, however there is goodwill towards the UK from most of the trading partners who are very keen to continue to do business with the world's 5th largest economy on the same terms as before.
Still need to tackle the FTA with the remnant EU, where UK GDP is equivalent to 18% of the GDP of the remaining 27 EU countries. No doubt that will prove more challenging!
#The200ExportClub #Brexit #tradepolicy