Brexit: "A damn nightmare" - Trump also affected

Created: 12/31/2021, 7:23 PM

Donald Trump was a supporter of Brexit.

Now he is affected by the effects himself.

(Archive image) © Imago

Brexit was finally completed a year ago.

Prime Minister Johnson wants to build an independent trading nation.

But the population is already cursing.

London - Great Britain finally broke away from the EU a year ago: When the transition period expired on January 1, 2021, economic cooperation with the EU also ended.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government are promoting the path to an independent trading nation that is involved in the table of the big players without the shackles of the EU.

But the reality is different: one year after Brexit, the British government has a lot to deal with.

Brexit brings British economy to its knees: Lack of labor and high fees

The UK's annual report reads like a summary of Brexit concerns: a lack of workers due to a shortage of EU employees, but higher costs due to increased customs and transport fees.

These are precisely the problems facing many companies, both European and British.

It seems like an irony of history that Donald Trump is also feeling the consequences of Brexit.

The former US President cheered and defended Britain's exit from the EU.

Now his luxury golf hotel Trump Turnberry in Scotland is also suffering.

Hardly a day goes by without one industry making its Brexit worries public.

The UK job market noticed it first.

There are well over a million vacancies there.

But what Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is cheering about causes problems in supermarkets, at gas stations and on farms.

Because cheap workers from EU countries such as Poland, Romania or Lithuania are staying away, since high fees for work visas have been due since Brexit, truck drivers are now missing - shelves and at times petrol pumps remained empty, and there was a lack of supplies.

Pig farmers had to cull thousands of healthy animals because too few butchers work in the slaughterhouses.

It is estimated that 200,000 EU citizens have permanently emigrated.

In order to fill the gaps, the government is constantly granting new professional groups exemptions for work visas.

Boris Johnson holds on to success - citizens rant about "nightmare"

But the word “Brexit” seems to be on the index on Downing Street.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his cabinet regularly deny that leaving the EU is responsible for the problems.

Rather, they insist that Britain, like many other countries, will be hit by the consequences of the pandemic.

The government has no interest in dealing with Brexit, says Ulrich Hoppe, head of the German-British Chamber of Commerce in London, the

.

On the contrary: Instead, every positive news as a result of Brexit and freedom from the regulatory framework of the EU will be sold.

The UK supermarkets were empty due to a lack of truck drivers.

© Li Ying / Imago

There is a lot to discuss here: bilateral trade with the EU has long since collapsed. The think tank Center for European Reform has calculated that British trade in goods in October 2021 was 15.7 percent or 12.6 billion pounds (almost 15 billion euros) lower than if the UK remained in the EU internal market and in the customs union would have been. That affects the economic strength. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has come to the conclusion that leaving the EU will reduce gross domestic product (GDP) by 4 percent. Broken down, this means, according to AHK boss Hoppe, that every Briton has to work a year longer. "Brexit is a bloody nightmare," grumbles a person in charge of an important English port city behind closed doors.

After Brexit: Great Britain has difficulties in the international market

It is still unclear how the British government wants to position the United Kingdom in international competition, criticizes foreign trade expert Marc Lehnfeld from the federally owned company GTAI.

The EU remains the most important market, the targeted trade agreement with the USA is a long way off, also because of political disputes over Northern Ireland.

Instead, the government makes do with gestures to symbolize its independence: the traditional Crown Stamp calibration mark, which has been banned by the EU, is once again used as a measure.

The exclusive labeling of foods with old weight units such as pounds and ounces is also permitted.

But beyond the borders of the United Kingdom, the bureaucracy continues to make coexistence more difficult: “For the most part, associations and companies see the EU successors to EU REACH (UK REACH) and the CE mark (UKCA) as a major double burden, as the EU remains an important one Sales market ”, states foreign trade expert Lehnfeld.

Deal with Australia and offshore headquarters: Britain not lost after Brexit

Prime Minister Johnson recently hailed a free trade agreement with Australia. It is the first deal that London completely renegotiated after Brexit. Compared to the losses in EU trade, the treaty is more like a drop in the ocean. Even the BBC commented: “The UK has given Australia almost anything it wanted to access the UK agricultural market. Other major economies will not miss this and will demand similar access. ”Complaints are already coming from British farmers who fear cheap meat imports.

But it's not all gloomy.

Lehnfeld and Hoppe emphasize that Great Britain remains an important market.

The British government is acting pragmatically in some areas, for example suppliers of goods are now allowed to enter the country without a visa and, for example, install machines or kitchens from the EU.

The more favorable dividend taxation attracts companies: Shell recently decided to use Great Britain as its headquarters.

When it comes to offshore wind and green hydrogen, the UK remains the measure of all things.

And even if Great Britain is on the verge of dropping out of the top ten German foreign trade partners for the first time, the UK is in a solid fifth place in terms of exports.

However, in view of the new import controls announced by London on January 1, experts are wondering how long this will continue to apply.