Don't suppose any of you have read the article in The Times mag today. Shame.
//For Falconer, whatever happens politically, it is still game on. He is a true believer, the kind of man who can change minds and, he hopes, bend the arc of history in Britain’s favour. After an inevitable “period of adjustment, both psychologically and economically” post-Brexit, Britain’s fortunes will get much better — fast, he insists. “I understand that there are other things distracting people. But keep your eye on the endgame. The opportunities are enormous. There are so many, where do I start? In 10 years, maybe even quicker, people will look back and say, ‘Oh, why were we so negative about our future?’ ”
What makes him so certain the future is bright? “The world is the UK’s oyster,” Falconer says. “We produce the best professional services in the world. Our banks are the best in the world. Our insurance companies are the most reliable. Our architects, our designers, our artists, our lawyers, our accountants — they’re world class. We have intellectual property rights to die for. It is these services that the fastest-growing economies in Asia and Africa crave. The world is begging for the UK to be able to trade with it. It’s not because of something we’re going to take from people. It’s because our world-class services are what other countries need to become more efficient themselves. We’ll be pushing on an open door.”
And there’s quite a queue building on the other side. “The countries that the EU has had agreements with are more than happy to have those agreements with us in our own right, once we’ve left. Countries like Australia and New Zealand, which haven’t yet, but are about to start negotiations with the EU, are also clamouring to start with us. Countries that are failing to achieve negotiations with the EU, like the United States, are committed to negotiation with us.”
It is not only the service industries — Britain’s strongest economic suit, which accounts for 80% of UK GDP and 85% of our workforce — where we have a chance to prosper. Falconer sees vast opportunities in goods, too. Whether it’s cars or aircraft wings, the world loves what we produce and is prepared to pay a premium. He singles out one product that many might find surprising: protein. “The world is crying out for protein and safe food, generally. In east Asia, that’s what they want. They don’t trust their domestic production, with good reason.” Lax food safety standards have been blamed for hundreds of deaths and widespread food-poisoning scandals in recent years, mainly in China. “The UK has huge strengths here. It makes world-class produce. High-quality, safe food and beverages. We can now negotiate with countries in a way that’s specifically tailored to getting our salmon and our venison on tables.” Or now our beef. A ban on British beef imports to China, imposed after the outbreak of BSE 20 years ago, has just been lifted, creating a £2bn market.
Where could we do better? “The EU is still hanging on to a 19th-, even an 18th-century agricultural model. There are large swathes in the economy where the sort of agricultural protectionism that the EU has doesn’t need to apply.” Falconer cites citrus fruits that Britain has to source from southern Europe to protect farmers in Italy and Spain. Freed from this restriction, he says, we could cut deals with emerging markets to take more of their fruit and veg in return for, say, greater access to their financial and insurance markets.
Fox, for instance, thinks India could be a good place to start. It currently accounts for about 1.6% of all insurance premiums and 2.2% of life insurance premiums, even though it is home to 18% of the world’s population.//
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/magazine/the-sunday-times-magazine/the-bright-side-of-brexit-exclusive-interviews-with-the-department-for-international-trades-top-negotiators-5d7z3rczl