Indledning
Almost a year after it took full effect, the consequences of Britain’s split from the European Union are still unfolding. Here is a guide to what it means, how it came about and what the future may hold.

Britain broke from the European Union’s regulatory orbit on Jan. 1, casting off nearly a half-century inside the bloc and embarking on what analysts described as the biggest overnight change in modern commercial relations between countries.

Indholdsfortegnelse
Let’s start with the basics.

Leaving is a big deal economically.

Brexit’s supporters say their aim is a ‘Global Britain.’

In Northern Ireland, Brexit is waking old demons.

Scotland could make its own split.

Fishing remains a sore point.

What’s next?
- Assignments:

Optimer dit sprog - Læs vores guide og scor topkarakter

Uddrag
Leaving is a big deal economically.
Europe has been Britain’s most important export market and its biggest source of foreign investment and E.U. membership helped London cement its position as a global financial center.

For decades, British companies could move goods to and from the European Union without taxes or tariffs. People could move freely, too.

But as 2021 began, business changed for many — including British automakers, who rely on suppliers across Europe, and touring musicians, who suddenly faced a thicket of visa rules.

The agreement that London and Brussels reached late in 2020 avoided tariffs or quotas on goods. But traders still confronted new paperwork and unpredictable delays, sometimes resulting in rotting cargoes.

And the services sector — about 80 percent or more of British economic activity, comprising not only the financial industry, but also lawyers, architects, consultants and others — was left dependent on patchwork decisions by European regulators.

Britain’s Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent official body, says trade with the European Union took a sharp hit in January and remained 15 percent down in August

even as business with other countries began to recover from pandemic effects. It estimates that Britain’s economy will be 4 percent less productive than it would have been inside the bloc.

Brexit’s supporters say their aim is a ‘Global Britain.’
Opponents of Brexit describe it as an attempt to reclaim an imagined Britain of the past, one with fewer European migrants and more patriotic singing.

But Mr. Johnson, like many prominent proponents, often presents it as a way of embracing change.

Outside the E.U. single market, with its shared regulations, Britain can set rules to encourage innovation, although the deal permits either side to seek redress for regulatory changes that might create an unfair advantage.

Outside the bloc’s customs union, with its common tariffs, Britain can seek trade deals with countries such as India and the United States. It signed a major trade deal with Australia in June.

Some Brexit supporters also argue that ending free migration for European Union citizens will allow more flexibility for others — a case that resonated in British Asian communities during the referendum campaign.