The Road Haulage Association is very worried about a no deal Brexit. Their concerns centre on contracts and data. The contracts they have don't allow for no deal. Things such as pricing and delivery schedules will still have to be met even though tariffs will raise costs and border controls will delay deliveries. Failing to meet the contract requirements will mean financial penalties - just when costs are going up.
These contractual problems can then lead to legal disputes - and these will cause further problems. Currently, as a member of the EU, we are signed up to treaties which streamline cross-border dispute resolution. Leaving without a deal would mean that companies would have to defend themselves using a foreign legal system, in countries where there will be a feeling that as the UK created the problem it is not up to the EU to sort it out. The legal basis of the contracts themselves may even be undermined by our departure from the EU.
Even if our exporters manage to deal with the contract problems, there is another serious issue that could cause just as much pain. Leaving without a deal will mean that the UK would need to negotiate a specific 'data trade deal' with the EU to allow our companies to transfer personal data to and from Europe. If this doesn't seem a particular serious issue, consider an exporter that isn't allowed to store the addresses of its EU customers. The EU takes data protection seriously - just ask Google who were slapped with a £40 million fine for breaking the rules last month.
This isn't what Leave promised us. The Brextremists who refuse to sign up for Mrs May's deal are sacrificing UK businesses and UK prosperity to their misguided political obsession.
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