Brexit will set UK back £11bn in EU trade costs, research finds

Businesses and consumers will pay heavy price if UK forced to trade by WTO rules and not free trade agreement, says Lord Rose

Britain would be landed with £11bn in new tariffs if it left the EU and did not get a free trade agreement, according to the leader of the group campaigning to stay in. Lord Rose, who heads Britain Stronger in Europe, published research suggesting that the UK would have to begin trading with the EU using World Trade Organisation rules, which would cost businesses and consumers more.

Speaking as David Cameron heads to Brussels for two days of talks on Britain’s future in the EU, the businessman said that the campaigns arguing that Britain should leave the EU are proposing a specific deal: ending all budget contributions, ending free movement and repatriating economic regulations while retaining full access to the single market.

“The [Leave Europe] campaigns’ proposals are a pipedream. They do not have a credible or achievable alternative which can replicate, let alone improve upon, the benefits the single market brings, and if they were to pursue their terms as currently proposed there would be a real risk of Britain leaving Europe with no trade deal at all,” Rose said.

“The cost of failure to secure a trade deal would be huge: family finances and Britain’s economy would be under threat. Britain would move to trading with the EU according to World Trade Organisation rules.”

The Britain Stronger in Europe campaign said this would be equivalent of £176 for every person and £426 for every household in Britain. The figure is based on UK imports from the EU at a value of £220bn, facing a tariff set at at a level of “most favoured nations”.

The research was designed to back up claims by Sir John Major, the former prime minister, that the UK is on a dangerous course by flirting with leaving the EU while the rest of the world is coming together. 

The full article appears here: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/dec/16/brexit-uk-11bn-extra-costs-eu-trade-research