Chippy_boy
Well-Known Member
Just started looking at this. In 2013 (latest stats I can find) 50% of our exports to the EU were with our three largest trading partners, the remaining 50% was with the other 24 nations. That could prove to be significant could it not. I am guessing but I think it will be Germany, France and Spain...? I will look further into thud, in the meantime, here's a link to the EU site i took the info from.
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Intra-EU_trade_in_goods_-_recent_trends
The same is true of their exports (more or less).
To ratify a trade deal, it needs the support of 20 nations out of the 28. 24 of them don't give a shit about loss of exports to the UK, and they won't agree to a trade deal that rewards us for leaving and gives us unfettered access to their markets.
We aren't getting a trade deal. The more relevant question is, does the financial penalty hurt enough to cost jobs in the UK and can other trade deals be put in place that compensate.
The answer to that imho, is "perhaps" in the medium to long term, like 5 years+ But in the short term, businesses can't just drop European customers and instantly replace them with ones in Mexico. And the foreign businesses that are in the UK primarily to sell to the whole of the EU, will rethink their strategies and over time, move production out of the UK.