FUTURE AND CHALLENGES OF BREXIT

A word which amalgamates the sound of two different words (portmanteau word), Brexit = Britain + exit is the term used by people to describe the United Kingdom’s impending withdrawal from EU (European Union). The mightiest bloc of the globe, European Union is on the verge of losing United Kingdom, its supreme member which will have serious impact on the entire world; the European nations will lose their leading military power, the United States will have to confront a new ally resulting in unstable situations (Financial Times, 2019). Moreover, UK holds the fifth position in the world’s national economy but Brexit will result in unstable market scenarios which can pose potential threat to the economy of UK. UK comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland; the island country of Great Britain holding the first three countries of which England is the most prosperous with London as its capital. The EU consists of 28 countries which also include enemy countries like France and Germany bonded in agreement. With the departure of UK, other EU countries are also likely to fall apart which will have serious impact on the global stability and economy (Financial Times, 2019).

The exit slated for 2019, March involved negotiations in two parts- the withdrawal pact for initiating the terms of UK’s exit; the second being the pact on the trading transactions of the future. UK desires extensive free trading relations with the EU which can be materialized only after its departure as EU is not legible for signing trade pacts with its own members(Financial Times, 2019). The consequences are varying in cases of hard or no deal Brexit, which states the absence of agreement concerning their future relationship and soft Brexit which stands for UK’s involvement with EU in matters related to constitutional arrangements. Some foresee the no- deal situation resulting in cancellation of laws governing chemical agreements of EU with its UK suppliers(Financial Times, 2019).  Hard Brexit can lead to some inevitable damages in the chemical industry-UK being the leading member in REACH (EU law dealing with registration, authorization, evaluation of chemicals) departing from EU means disruption of future activities in these fields. Being the mouthpiece of ECHA (European Chemicals Agency), the unstable situation arising from the cancellation of REACH registrations will create emptiness in the ECHA’s system. REACH and ECHA want to sustain its bonds with UK post-Brexit and have prepared another plan for dealing with registrations beyond UK (Reid et al., 2018).

Industries are under threat post- Brexit, which are highlighted in the recent declarations of BMW and Airbus, both have plans of quitting UK in case of no-deal Brexit, the uncertain conditions are restricting the companies in risk analyzing and future planning(Reid et al., 2018). The companies in chemical sectors, aerospace and automotive are well equipped with emergency plans. The post- Brexit unstable economy will compel the UK to opt for minor quality processes without proper precautionary measures resulting in an increase in environmental damages and pollution which can be threatening to EU(Reid et al., 2018). Central investigation agency (CIA) is of the opinion that the future laws governing UK will overshadow the present standards of EU. Nothing can be predicted prior the signing of the ultimate Brexit withdrawal pact; the future of the entire industry remains uncertain and unstable(Reid et al., 2018).

The biggest challenge facing Brexit is the Irish border; the borders remain open between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland belongs to the EU while Northern Ireland is in UK whose trade with EU will be disrupted post Brexit. The situation would demand tough borders with border crossing, check points and bolder infrastructure for controlling trade and related economic activities. The pact still maintains the present state of affairs on the borders as the two blocs strive hard to find solutions(Reid et al., 2018).

Reference:

Five Brexit challenges as Britain leaps into the unknown | Financial Times. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/6e3aeb4a-ec65-11e6-930f-061b01e23655

Reid, C., Burns, C., Carter, N., Cowell, R., Eckersley, P., Farstad, F.,& Moore, B. (2018). Scotland: Challenges and opportunities for post-Brexit environmental governance.