BBC: No-deal Brexit would hit UK economy, says IMF

17 September 2018

The International Monetary Fund has warned that a "no-deal" Brexit on World Trade Organization terms would entail "substantial costs" for the UK economy.

The IMF said that all likely Brexit scenarios would "entail costs", but a disorderly departure could lead to "a significantly worse outcome".

The challenges in getting a deal done were "daunting", it said.

The IMF expects Britain's economy to grow by 1.5% in both 2018 and 2019 if a broad Brexit agreement is struck.

The predictions came in the IMF's latest annual assessment of the UK economy.

Speaking at a news conference at the Treasury in London, Christine Lagarde, the IMF's managing director, added: "Those projections assume a timely deal with the EU on a broad free trade agreement and a relatively orderly Brexit process after that.

"Any deal will not be as good as the smooth process under which goods, services, people and capital move around between the EU and the UK without impediments and obstacles."

A no-deal outcome would affect other EU economies "to a lesser extent", the IMF said.

Ms Lagarde said a "disorderly" or "crash" exit from the EU would have a series of consequences, including reduced growth, an increased deficit and depreciation of sterling, leading to a reduction in the size of the UK economy. [...]

Full article on BBC


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