When we're thinking about remaining in the EU, or leaving, it's easy to forget that the EU of 2018 is not the EU of 2016. Since the referendum, the EU have agreed free trade deals with Canada, Singapore, Ecuador, Ukraine, and most recently and significantly Japan.
In other words, we're chasing a moving target. The free trade deals we'll be giving up when we Brexit are significantly more extensive than the ones that were in force in 2016. And with every new trade deal the EU completes, there's less and less of the world left for the UK
to beat the EU to. It's easy to imagine that by the end of a transition period, if we get one, there will be another batch of new EU trade deals, putting us even further behind in the race.
Of course, if we stayed, we'd reap the benefits of the EU's negotiation efforts.
Of course, if we stayed, we'd reap the benefits of the EU's negotiation efforts.
