https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...old-prepare-hard-brexit-heavy-economic-losses
From a strictly economic point of view, Germans would have preferred a soft Brexit. A soft Brexit would benefit all sides whereas a hard brexit would hurt all sides. I think though that the Germans are looking at it from the standpoint of not wanting to risk a domino effect. In other words, while a soft Brexit might benefit the EU in the short term, it could also send the wrong message to other EU member states. Should more states leave, then the common market shrinks and suddenly EU businesses would need to deal with tariffs in every country. From that standpoint, they're probably looking at it as it's preferable to amputate the arm and save the body than to try to preserve the arm and put the rest of the body at risk. It's better to bite the bullet now than to suffer more pain later.
I could see some possibilities. The EU accept that the UK delay Brexit but with an understanding that when it comes, Brexit will be hard. Alternatively, I could see a gradual move towards a hard Brexit whereby barriers rise gradually over time. In other words, an initially soft but gradually hardening Brexit into a hard Brexit over time.
If Germany is telling its businesses to brace for impact, it might be wise for the UK government to give the same memo to UK businesses. No point giving them false hope.
Meanwhile, the UK should seriously start to think about going the way of Singapore.
Plan for a very hard Brexit, German firms told - BBC News
From a strictly economic point of view, Germans would have preferred a soft Brexit. A soft Brexit would benefit all sides whereas a hard brexit would hurt all sides. I think though that the Germans are looking at it from the standpoint of not wanting to risk a domino effect. In other words, while a soft Brexit might benefit the EU in the short term, it could also send the wrong message to other EU member states. Should more states leave, then the common market shrinks and suddenly EU businesses would need to deal with tariffs in every country. From that standpoint, they're probably looking at it as it's preferable to amputate the arm and save the body than to try to preserve the arm and put the rest of the body at risk. It's better to bite the bullet now than to suffer more pain later.
I could see some possibilities. The EU accept that the UK delay Brexit but with an understanding that when it comes, Brexit will be hard. Alternatively, I could see a gradual move towards a hard Brexit whereby barriers rise gradually over time. In other words, an initially soft but gradually hardening Brexit into a hard Brexit over time.
If Germany is telling its businesses to brace for impact, it might be wise for the UK government to give the same memo to UK businesses. No point giving them false hope.
Meanwhile, the UK should seriously start to think about going the way of Singapore.
Plan for a very hard Brexit, German firms told - BBC News
