The no-deal Brexit tariffs are nothing to be afraid of

What strange knots some tie themselves in over Brexit. The attitude of some of those opposed to Britain leaving the EU is this when it comes to free trade: when conducted with the EU, it is essential for our prosperity. But when conducted with any other country it is a dark threat to our very being. How else to explain the reaction of CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn to the publication of the Government’s proposed tariff rates, which would apply in the even of a no-deal Brexit. The new regime would see some tariffs imposed on EU goods which currently enter the country tariff-free – 18 per cent of EU imports by value would fall into this category. But overall it would mean a sharp drop in tariffs on goods from all around the world. While 80 per cent of our imports are currently tariff-free, following a no-deal Brexit this would be true of 87 per cent of imports by value.  

Tariffs on some goods, such as imported cars, will remain as they are now (10 per cent) but in the event of a no-deal Brexit they would apply to imports from the EU as well as from the rest of the world.