Here is thread with few facts relevant to current drama on Brexit deal or rather more likely NO DEAL - FOR NOW!
1.) If we have to go to ‘no deal’ (/Australia deal) we will be doing what most members of World Trade Organisation (WTO - covering virtually every country in world) do.

2/ 2/3rds of trading in world is done under WTO rules. USA exports more than UK does to EU but does so under WTO rules; so does China.
2.) If tariffs have to be imposed under ‘no deal’ WTO rules, the EU will pay £12bn in tariffs a year and the U.K. £5bn (ref: Civitas) -
3/ (ref: Civitas) - because tariffs hit mostly agricultural EU goods, such as 40% on cheeses & 12% on wine;
3.) The £12bn income from tariffs will come to UK Treasury, not Brussels. Effectively these will be UK consumer taxes that could perhaps go towards reducing COVID debt?;
4/ 4.) 43% of UK exports do yes go to EU; but this is small proportion of our actual economy: only 7.5% UK GDP are goods exports to EU; 13.5% with services. Only 8% UK companies even trade with EU. (@BBCNews please show balance on this). Most of our trade is internal within UK.
5/ over 2/3rds (SNP take note!); so tariffs will effect a small proportion of UK exports (though some sectors will be hit hard;
5.) By definition, 57% of U.K. exports go to Rest of the World. Growth outside of Europe is forecast to be 90% of all growth over next 15-20 years.
6/ When we joined EEC around 60% UK exports went to EEC. We now have UK trade deals with over 100 countries despite pessimists saying too difficult;
6.) Whilst UK has trade surplus with USA and most Commonwealth countries, we have massive deficit with EU in goods - £95bn a year.
7/ Meaning EU Single Market currently works badly for UK. Trump would go ballistic at such an imbalance if this was US trade deal;
7.) UK is 5th largest economy in world, the same sized economy as India with 1.3 billion population, & 20% larger than geographically massive Russia;
8/ 8.) If there is no deal, UK could incentivise import substitution (within WTO rules parameters) - so there is more ‘re-shoring’ to British based companies and suppliers, and to non-EU suppliers such as Commonwealth at the expense of EU exporters;
9/ 9.) No deal would really be ‘no deal - for now’. Negotiations could start again & have more urgency as UK tariffs started to bite, such as 10% on German built cars., 40% on cheeses & meats, 12% wines. The key difference is the ‘political punishment’ guidelines used by EU now -
10/ to punish & restrain an independent UK - will be gone; & more trade based guidelines - to ensure freer access to EU’s 2nd biggest market - used instead;
10.) Normally, only about 4% of containers arriving into U.K. are checked physically and this is mostly intelligence led
11/ tip offs; strange companies; not trusted regular traders). Most checks done electronically such as customs declarations via HMRC. The UK has already set up a new Customs Declaration System (CDS) replacing current Customs Handling of Import or Export Freight (CHIEF)
12/ For first 6 months, UK will be very flexible about letting EU goods into UK to allow procedures to bed down. Only 30% UK food comes from EU, 50% UK; 20% ROW.
11.) We have had 4.5 years to prepare! We don’t need any more time. Deadlines must be met.
ENDS!

More from Brexit

1. #Belfast #IrishSeaBorder There is no doubt that Brexit & the accompanying Irish Sea Border has destabilised the Union. Whilst the constitutional status of Northern Ireland has not changed, the fact of N.I remaining in the single market of the EU confirms it is”a place apart”.

2. Belfast Steve Aitkin/UUP, Mervyn Gibson/OrangeOrder,Jim Allister/TUV, Jamie Bryson/Unionist Blogger, etc etc, all see the Irish Sea Border & different economic arrangements for NI apart from Britain as a “betrayal”. It comes in a long line of Tory”betrayals”.

3. #Belfast They are correct. The Irish Sea Border & EU single market moves N.Ireland closer to the Republic of Ireland in terms of economic
https://t.co/tdKZhjKhWu,it doesn’t change the constitutional status of NI but it is a huge psychological blow to a Unionism.

4. #Belfast The DUP utterly failed to “strengthen the Union”. Their attempt to hold the minority Tory Theresa May govt to ransom backfired spectacularly when Boris Johnson won a significant majority. Their arrogance led them to be isolated & resented in Westminster.

5. #Belfast How does Unionism now react to this?Retreat to the”Bunker”?Repeat the ineffective “Flag”street activism of the past? The Union can now only be saved imo by reaching out to the 5-10% swing vote that will decide a future Border Poll on Irish unification,& it is coming.

You May Also Like