Nearly everything you need to know about Global Britain, the supposed upside to Brexit is contained in the latest article in the FT, on the prospects of a trade deal between the UK and India.
The prospects are low: for a start as India isn’t that interested and what it does want, much better access to the UK for its citizens, is not on offer. India also has a bad reputation for not enforcing what deals it does sign and actually stymying foreign firms. Even a cut in some specific tariffs on some products, which the UK government would try to sell as a huge triumph, would quite possibly run foul of the WTO. As you are only supposed to do that as part of a comprehensive trade deal.
But the killer fact is that the UK’s share of Indian imports has collapsed in recent years, 20 years ago UK goods used to make up 6% of Indian imports and services 11%, now the figures are 1.3% and 2.1%. The UK does more trade with Belgium than that.
So the logical thing to do would be to spend a lot of time and effort negotiating a better deal for the UK’s goods and especially services with Belgium, which would have the added benefit of having to cover the whole of the EU.
Logical but unlikely.
https://jonty.substack.com/