Guardian:
Theresa May's Brexit speech leaves small firms in the dark
18 January 2017
Article by Swati Dhingra
No access to EU’s single market and replacement deals potentially decades away heightens uncertainty for UK businesses.
Theresa May’s speech on Tuesday was the government’s first informative announcement on what the UK will look like after Brexit. A customs union with the EU has been ruled out so the UK can negotiate trade deals with countries outside the EU. This hard Brexit would mean that, after we leave, the UK will trade with the EU and the rest of the world under World Trade Organisation rules, until it has negotiated its new trade deals. That is unless we make an interim agreement with the EU before we leave, which would also need to be approved by the WTO. However, we still could not make trade agreements with countries outside the EU before Brexit without the EU’s approval. The EU continues to be our biggest trade and investment partner. Exiting the single market without any other trade deal with the EU in place would mean a 5% cost disadvantage for UK manufacturers, who would face import taxes in the EU.