Brexit does not pose immediate threat to SA
Although the implementation of Brexit from Friday evening marks a historic fork in the road in economic relations between the UK and the European Union (EU), not much will change for South Africa in the immediate future, says the North West University (NWU) Business School's Professor RaymondParsons.
“Although the UK election in December last year had brought an end to the protracted uncertainty which had preceded it, today was not the end of the Brexit journey. Brexit is a process, not an event. The hard part of Brexit still lies ahead, given 'unfinished business' on the Brexit agenda,” Parsons noted in a statement.
He added that existing trade and other arrangements would remain in place until the end of 2020, while the UK and the EU negotiate the terms of their future economic relations and a possible free trade agreement.
“However, these will be tough and complex negotiations which, if not finalised by the end of the year, could generate renewed uncertainty about the UK's global trading status and its trade relations with [other] countries.
“There remain strong doubts about the technical and political feasibility of completing these negotiations by year-end.”
Parsons noted that given South Africa's major trading stake in the UK economy, its trade relations with the UK remain protected in the post-Brexit period by the agreement signed between the UK and the Southern African Customs Union towards the end of last year.
This keeps the existing tariff regime with the UK intact while the Brexit process unfolds.
“But, South Africa must still from now on regularly evaluate what new risks or opportunities may emerge from the Brexit process. Preliminary research done by NWU suggests that other bilateral deals, which a post-Brexit UK may eventually strike with various countries, such as the US, may affect South Africa’s future competitive position in the UK market.
“Post-Brexit, there are still a number of economic unknowns. South Africa must therefore remain alert to the possible unintended consequences of Brexit and be prepared to respond appropriately if they should arise,” Parsons warned.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation