Barcelona
The impact of Brexit on Spain is still very uncertain, and very much depends on the trade deal to be negotiated during the transition period, an expert said.
Britain officially left the European Union (EU) on Jan. 31, 2020, putting an end to its 47-year-long membership of the world’s largest trading bloc. The remaining 27 EU member states have agreed to negotiate a trade deal with the UK by the end of 2020.
“If a good agreement is reached, then the potentially negative consequences will be minimized. If a bad agreement is reached, or even no agreement, which I personally think is an unlikely scenario, then there will be more severe consequences,” Just Castillo, professor of international politics at The Autonomous University of Barcelona, told Xinhua.
Spain is home to over 350,000 Britons, the largest British community among EU countries. Spain is also one of Britain’s top trading partners in export sales.
According to Castillo, Brexit will have a stronger impact on the British community, the majority being retirees, who live in Spain. It will also affect younger Spaniards who are looking to move to Britain for educational or professional opportunities. On the economic and trade front, Spain heavily relies on exports to Britain and could have a stronger impact if a bad or no trade deal were to be agreed on. “Many times we have to take into account that the challenges in these commercial transactions depend not only on taxes or fees that may be imposed, but on other barriers that are not tariffs,” said the professor.—Xinhua
