SIR - Parliament is grinding away on the early stages of the Brexit bill, the Remain side demand a soft landing!
The PM has emphasised that Britain could walk away rather than sign a bad deal. For clarity, “walk away” means enjoying normal relations with the EU without any special arrangements, copying Australia.
In the worst case scenario, World Trade Organisation rules provide for tariffs of £5.2 billion on British exports to the EU 27, and of £12.9 billion on EU exports to the UK, actually providing a surplus of £7.7 billion to the UK treasury, assuming trade continues at its present average level? Trade would likely reduce on both sides but as long as we buy more from the EU, we remain in profit.
No one is calling for tariffs on other side of the Channel but failure to reach a swift deal might be a nuisance, but not catastrophic. Close to 70 per cent of our economic activity is domestic; and the rest, a large and growing proportion, is related to non-EU trade. Only six per ent of British firms do any business with the rest of the Single Market. Time to get it all in proportion.
Alan Chapman, Beck Lane, Bingley
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