Quote: Cronus "The May deal isn't perfect, but it'll do a job. I've said all along we won't get the perfect deal - the EU isn't going to let a nation leave and give them the same benefits - but as long as we can continue to work with them we'll be fine.
Economies adapt, and the UK economy is resilient - indeed it has performed far better than most experts predicted post-referendum. Economies already adapt as markets boom and bust, as recessions come and go. The EU share of UK and global trade has been diminishing for decades while non-EU has boomed and indeed surpassed the EU from the UK's perspective. We now go out and seize that business without the restraints of the EU, whilst still trading with the EU. Any potential decrease in EU trade (likely to be marginal) can be offset by growth in non-EU trade.
The EU, meanwhile, can carry on with its political turmoil and growing dissatisfaction of many member nations, political parties and huge swathes of the populace, including the growth of far-right sentiment driven largely by their own policies. The UK will have made its decision and be in a stable place, able to reach decisions far more quickly and to trade independently.'"
Here's where we have a fundamental difference of opinion.
Our trade with the EU has reached it's current level, not because the EU nations are X times better than other nations but, primarily because of our geographic proximity to one another, allowing us to make great use of just in time service to allow fast, efficient manufacturing with frictionless trade, using the relative strenghts of our closest neighbours.
We do of course trade furhter afield with China, India, Bangaldesh etc, etc but, whilst some of our trade with the EU could be replaced, much of our "set up" has occured to best service our largest export market.
THe one certainty is that, should trading within the EU become more problematic (post Brexit) many of the international companies, currently situated in the UK but servicing the EU export market will simply re locate to within the EU, not to mention our "jewel in the crown" finance sector, which the Germans and French would love to "steal" from us.
A few cheaper imposrts simply wont fill the hole.
