Brexit for the City and UK services

Liam Fox pointed out this week:

- "First, if we take the top 10 markets where the UK has a trade surplus only one of them, Ireland, is in the EU.

- "And if we look at the 10 markets with which the UK has a trade deficit, seven out of the 10 are in the EU. It is, therefore, very much in the interests of other EU states that Britain and they makes a success of Brexit and our new relationship."

That implies that the EU will want to strike a good trade deal with the UK.

That's fair enough. The EU has a good trade of goods deal with Serbia. Also Canada.

But will a trade deal cover the needs of the City and services exporters? That is the 1 trillion pound question!

Meanwhile, two European finance ministers offered to give Boris Johnson free tutoring on the EU Lisbon Treaty after he claimed that freedom of movement is not an integral part of the EU Single Market.

It is clear that the UK cannot achieve the access Norwegians services have in the EU market without offering free movement as part of the deal.

Without free movement it can get some sort of deal bu nothing that emulates that type of access for the City and for other UK services.


Services is what turns a goods trade deficit into a surplus for goods+services.