I am writing in response to the news about the UK’s real GDP growth being projected to slow to about 1.6 per cent in 2016 and 0.6 per cent in 2017, but recovering thereafter (FTAdviser, 19 July).
Maybe now, as a nation, we can get back to business as usual. The £24.3bn buyout of ARM by Japan’s SoftBank may even help bury some of the “lack of investment” by foreign investor capers as well.
The fact that countries are currently fighting to do trade deals with the UK should hopefully keep the doom and gloom merchants quiet on how we will struggle to get deals done.
I think many in the UK will be pleasantly surprised to learn how easy it actually is to do deals outside of the EU. The whole EU mentality is so draconian in its approach, as 28 (sorry, now 27) member states all wanting the best deal possible for their own country makes it virtually impossible to get trade deals done.
Some member states are poles apart from others in their needs. So many countries in the EU have so much going for them (Northern Europe is the industrial power house and the South has the sun and its tourism) but as one EU entity they are “handcuffed to a ghost”.
I foresee other exiteers following the UK’s lead in the near future with the remaining edifice soon coming crumbling down.
The sooner the EU realises this and returns to a common trading area only, the better every EU country will be.
Martyn L Young
Principal
M Young Associates
Belfast
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