The European food and agricultural sectors are benefiting in particular from the Brexit deal. Otherwise, the British would have wanted massive trade tariffs on those sectors. This is what economist Bert Cullen says at FING. Other economists are also positive about the trade agreement.
Cullen warns that despite these agreements, Brexit is still causing damage to the economy. He predicts that “after the 1st of January, it will not be possible to trade undisturbed as in recent years.” For example, trucks will soon have to be checked further at the border. This takes time and can cause delays. Companies have to take this into account.
The fact that concessions in fisheries are being offered, for example, is very important to the sector itself in Colijn’s eyes, but less important in the big picture. From an economic point of view, fishing is only a small sector, but it is a tangible and visible sector. This is why this was so sensitive politically.
Most economists believe that any trade deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union is better than a no-deal Brexit. According to Bas Jacobs, professor of economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, it is “insanely good news” that an agreement is finally reached.
Damage without a deal
“The damage would have been incalculable if no agreement had been reached,” says Jacobs. Then there will be all the tariffs that hinder free trade. “That would have been very bad for the Netherlands, because the UK is the Netherlands’ most important trading partner after Germany and Belgium.”
What Jacobs also found extremely important is that companies on both sides of the channel can now continue to compete with each other on an equal footing. The settlement between Brussels and London ensured that European Union equal opportunity rules remained intact. That doesn’t change the fact that leaving the European Union is a very stupid idea. Britain’s exit from the European Union remains a sad decision that cannot be explained economically, says the economics professor.
expiry
The latter is also the opinion of Arnaud Bout, professor of corporate finance and financial markets at the University of Amsterdam. But he gets the impression that with all the trade agreements reached, the negotiators have succeeded in arranging a Brexit that cannot actually be called Brexit. In his opinion, this is useful.
Boot is concerned about shelf life. For example, there is a clause of the agreement that made this compromise possible. The two parties agreed that in case of disagreement they could still set tariffs and trade barriers at a later time. According to Boot, this actually means that the deal can be detonated later and the success of the deal is highly dependent on political sentiment in the coming years.
More games
The UK wants to sign more trade deals in the near future. According to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, the United States, Australia and countries in the Asian region are now on the agenda. According to Rab, the latter region offers enormous growth opportunities for the future. According to him, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will also visit India in January to strengthen economic ties with the country.
The UK and Turkey are likely to sign a free trade agreement on Tuesday. Trade Minister Liz Truss said this on Sunday. Last year, the value of trade between the two countries reached nearly 21 billion euros, and the two countries will sign an agreement that reaffirms the terms of trade existing between Ankara and London, but Truss hopes that a specially designed deal between the two countries can be concluded soon.
The UK has now signed trade agreements with 62 countries ahead of the Brexit transition period on January 1, when the trade arrangements leave the European Union.
Special relationship
According to British Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove, the Brexit deal will allow the UK to maintain a “special relationship” with the European Union. This is how the country has traditionally described its close relationship with the United States.
“The trade deal now makes it possible to abandon the difficult and” sometimes ugly “Brexit process and enter a new, more optimistic era, Goff wrote in an op-ed in The Times on Saturday. However, he writes, quite a few things will change from January and companies will have to adapt.
