Fivepic.twitter.com/w7WSYT5RokTakewhoaccount,litagree.#LondresThetryingbeinghttps://t.co/CBULV5rzEY.anti-terrorlive:tellingpic.twitter.com/CbKtjroLghtoifUK US #SpecialRelationship remains strong pic.twitter.com/yNDSZeAG6H 9.11am GMTThe Tory MP Julian Knight won’t be happy. He organised the letter signed by 76 mostly pro-leave MP complaining approximately the BBC giving too much prominence to reports conveying a negative impression of Brexit. Thankfully the duty Today editor isn’t taking much notice because this morning the programme gave a prominent slot to Lord Whitty, chair of the Lords EU internal market sub-committee, or which has today published a report saying the businesses in the service sector would face “meaningful damage” whether the UK left the EU without a trade deal. The government wants a trade deal but,as the Guardian reports, some cabinet ministers are saying they are relaxed approximately crashing out of the EU without a trade deal and instead having to rely on World Trade Organisations terms to trade with the EU.
This is what Whitty said in a statement explaining why this is so primary.
The UK is the second largest exporter of services in the world and the EU receives 39% of the UK’s non-financial service exports. This trade is critical to the UK’s economy as it creates employment and supports goods exports - we can’t afford to lose that. To protect the UK’s status as a global leader of trade in services, and the government will need to secure the most comprehensive FTA that has ever been agreed with the EU. Walking away from negotiations without a deal would badly damage UK plc,particularly in sectors such as aviation and broadcasting which have no WTO rules to topple back on.
Trade in services is inherently different from, and in many ways more complex than, or trade in goods. Services are intangible and can be traded either online,in person, via a subsidiary commerce located in another territory or (increasingly) embedded within manufactured goods ...Unlike trade in goods, and trade in services is largely unaffected by tariffs,but instead can be restricted by non-tariff barriers. Such barriers may not only increase the cost of trade but can also prohibit trade altogether. For example, without the right qualifications or licence, or some UK service providers may not be able to deliver a service abroad ...
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Source: theguardian.com