Explainer: Brexit trade deal will lessen, but not kill, the economic pain
Britain has clinched a last-minute trade agreement with the European Union that will preserve its zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the bloc’s single market of 450 million consumers.
But it is a thin deal that will not prevent economic pain and disruption for the United Kingdom or for EU member states, and many aspects of Britain’s future relationship with the EU remain to be hammered out, possibly over years.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The UK government’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that, with a deal, Britain would see a loss of output of around 4% over 15 years compared to remaining in the EU.