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Peyton Jackson

Mr. O’Grady

Contemporary World Issues

10 May 2019

Brexit Issue Spreads around the World

Hello my name is Grace Hill and I am chief of the CIA Bureau in London, England. I’m

writing this to inform you of the problems relating to Brexit. Brexit has been an issue for almost

more than three years, and back in June of 2016 fifty-two percent voted to leave the European

Union and forty-eight wanted to stay. On April 2, 2019 May announced she would work with

Jeremy Corbyn to create a plan, but she asked the EU to extend the no- deal Brexit deadline to

June 30th. Also on April 3rd Parliament approved to make no-deal Brexit illegal. The Brexit

debate has gone on for too long now, and many are anxious to see how leaving or staying will

change not only the U.K., but also other countries with ties to England. Some want to leave the

EU, but keep the relationship with the EU the same, but this comes with consequences. I

personally believe the U.K. should stay due to the fact that they have a great impact on many

countries. In this letter I will be talking about what the issues with Brexit are today, the choices

that can be made, the opinions, and how it will affect the U.K and the U.S. To conclude my

report I will state possible solutions that I think the U.S. could implement to either avoid or help

the Brexit problem.

There are about four different possible choices that the United Kingdom could undergo.

First would be to make a deal that would be similar to Theresa May’s deal. As long as there is no

majority among the MP, or members of parliament, and as long as a compromise cannot be

agreed with the Labour leader, then a deal will still become an option. Thus with a longer delay
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for Brexit this could allow an early exit. Another option would be no deal, which means that the

U.K. would still leave even without a deal. Many already favored leaving without a deal, but this

would make trading ties harder, in which airlines and ports would be blocked. This could lead to

a shortage on goods. An alternative option would be to vote again, even though the polls show

today that the United Kingdom would reject Brexit. If they hold another referendum then there

are multiple options. Number one they could hold a non- binding referendum, which is being

questioned to be determined, that could lead to the approval of parliament. Then finally a

referendum is held. Another path is the amendment to hold a binding referendum on the deal that

could lead to the MP rejecting the deal which means the parliament would have to figure out a

new options, but if they approve the subject then that could lead to a referendum, in which the

public votes on whether to stay or leave. The fourth option for the Brexit problem is to

completely change the idea of Brexit and renegotiate. The fifth decision would be to hold another

general election, where Theresa May would be able to hold an election due to the terms in the

Fixed Term Parliaments Act. Lastly the U.K. could just call it quits and not have Brexit, which

seems like best and least complicated action.

As time passes many begin to form new opinions about Brexit. The European Council

President Donald Tusk believes that the U.K. is wasting their time. Both the Britain parties worry

that voters will use the European elections to punish them because of Brexit. According to Roger

Cohen’s article in the New York Times, Brexit makes no sense, and sadly the Conservative and

Labour party know that Brexit is a mess, but they don’t want to admit it. As for the voters, back

in the last election there were younger people who voted to stay as opposed to older voters.

Specifically, Tokunbo Oke, who is 60 years old, thinks that the U.K. should leave. He believes

that there are many reasons to leave the EU, such as the democratic deficit, the European super
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state being constructed, and the treatment of migrants, which can be seen by the way they treated

Greece after Syriza. He also believes that Britain is already falling apart because there is a

housing crisis, and he thinks that the U.K. should focus their attention on the problems that

people are facing in the moment, as opposed to focusing on Brexit. On the contrary to this

opinion Liliana Dias, 28 years old, hopes the United Kingdom stays. Others such as Tamara,

believe it could be good to have a second referendum because people have had enough time to

process how they feel, and this vote will demonstrate a clearer view on whether they stay or

leave. Voters like, Lazar Friedlander, believe that Brexit is all politics and that if Theresa May

can pull this off it will make her reputation look good. Lastly, Martin Whiting thinks that even

after this next vote in October, if they still don’t get the answer they want, will they keep voting.

If they keep voting then there’s no point in even conversing over Brexit because essentially the

voting will never end. He believes that they’ve already voted once, so why vote again. He also

believes that if they leave the EU, a country will sooner or later make a deal. If money is

involved, then the EU will get the deal they want.

Although there are many widespread opinions, the consequences behind Brexit are what

worry people the most. With Brexit, the U.K. economy grew 0.3% within the month of February,

but business investments declined by 0.9%, which has been the first investment decline since the

global financial crisis. With the uncertainties of how Brexit will be handled, companies have

been stockpiling treatments. These uncertainties have caused car plants to shut down, and

investment has been cut and jobs are being lost. Companies preferred to leave the EU on the

March 29th date, because they would have had a smooth transition and close EU trading

relationship in the future. Now that the date has been moved back companies have to be more

prepared and stock for a longer period of time.

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There are consequences with a hard Brexit. A hard Brexit without trade agreement would

eliminate Britain’s tariff- free trade status. Tariffs would raise the cost of exported goods, which

means exporter’s goods would become higher in price. More people will lose their jobs, and it

has already been reported that 5,000 jobs in the city of London were lost. Following up with the

reason younger people want to stay is because of job lose. A hard Brexit would hurt Britain’s

younger workers. The U.K. would also lose the EU’s technologies, and they will also lose their

ability to conduct public contracts in any EU country.

If there was a no deal Brexit there would also be consequences. The U.K. would no

longer be a member of the EU and they would have no trade agreement, and Britain would also

have to pay 51 billion dollars. The U.K. is vulnerable to drought due to global warming, and this

could cause a food shortage. Tariffs would increase prices of imported goods. Most importantly

because Ireland shares a border with the U.K., Northern Ireland would have to remain with the

U.K. This conflict could cause The Troubles, which was a 30 year conflict in Northern Ireland

between the Catholic Irish nationalists and the British Protestants.

If there is a deal for the U.K. then the big concern would be the increase of refugees from

Africa and the Middle East. Brexit’s biggest disadvantage is that it’s slowing the U.K.’s

economic growth, and this is due to the uncertainty of the final outcome. As for the EU it would

lose its most significant economies and “dissolve”.

With our ties, as Americans, this means we are also at stake when it comes to our

economy. The day after the Brexit vote, Dow Jones Industrial fell 610.32 points. The value of an

American dollar has risen, and the euro fell 2 percent to 1.11 dollar. Gold prices rose 6% starting

from 1,255 dollars to 1,330 dollars. With higher dollars means it is more expensive for buyers in

other countries, and the stock becomes more expensive for international buyers. Brexit is
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weakening out economy because the U.S. businesses are the most prevalent investors in Britain.

Many American businesses use the U.K. as their passage to trade with the EU. Companies will

soon find it harder and more expensive to move goods between the United Kingdom and the rest

of Europe. This also brings up more problems when it comes to clearing customs, and this means

businesses need to become more prepared for the future.

Mr. President we must lighten our image to the U.K. if we intend to continue our trading

relationship. Jeremy Corbyn believes that you are, “a president who rips up vital international

treaties, backs climate change denial, and uses racists and misogynist rhetoric”. In 2017 you met

with Theresa May, but the problem with traveling to the U.K. is the anti- Trump protests and

Britain’s extended Brexit crisis.

In conclusion, I Grace Hill suggest that we monitor this situation actively, by doing the

following:

 Maintain our economic ties with U.K., and debate on how our economy will be

effected in the long run. From there we can either keep or discontinue our trading

with U.K.

 We could send diplomates to discuss the issue on how Brexit affects not only

their economy, but also ours. From there we could convince the U.K. to stay

within the EU.

 We could try to create a stronger economic tie with the EU, instead of trading

through the U.K. to get to the EU.

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Works Cited

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"Brexit Consequences for the U.K., the EU, and the United States." The Balance,

www.thebalance.com/brexit-consequences-4062999.

"Brexit delay is more bad news for UK business." CNN,

www.cnn.com/2019/04/11/business/businesses-brexit-delay/index.html.

"Brexit Heads for That Riveting Black Hole." The New York Times,

www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/opinion/brexit-extension-european-union.html.

"Brexit: Parliamnet again fails to agree on how to leave the E.U., as deadline looms." NBC News,

www.nbcnews.com/storyline/brexit-referendum/brexit-parliament-again-set-vote-e-u-

divorce-options-n989406.

"Faltering Brexit talks limp on amid UK political impose." ABC News,

abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/faltering-brexit-talks-limp-amid-uk-political-

impasse-62697087.

"The Human Wedge in a Fracturing U.K. Conservative Party." The New York Times,

www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/world/europe/britain-brexit-mark-francois-theresa-may-

conservatives.html.

"Labour meets to decide stance on second Brexit referendum." Reuters,

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referendum-idUSKCN1S60QG.

"Labour Party: UK's opposition to decide today whether to back second Brexit referendum."

Euro News, www.euronews.com/2019/04/30/labour-party-uk-s-oppositon-to-decide-

today-whether-to-back-second-brexit-referendum.
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"Nigel Farage's Brexit Party names business leaders in European election candidate line-up."

Cityam, www.cityam.com/276562/salmon-smoker-and-charity-chief-among-candidates-

nigel.

"A Simples Guide to Why It Matters and What Happens Next." The New York Times,

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/world/europe/what-is-brexit.html.

"Theresa May faces Tory leadership challenge amid Brexit anger, party activists warn."

Independent, www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-brexit-tory-

leadership-race-local-elections-european-a8892266.html.

"U.K. Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn Refuses to Attend President Trump's State Dinner."

Times, time.com/5578838/jeremy-corbyn-declines-trump-dinner/.

"U.S. won't escape the pain of Brexit." NBC News, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/brexit-

referendum/u-s-won-t-escape-pain-brexit-n958361.

"The view from London: Brexit delay adds to sense of fatigue." Aljazeera,

www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/view-london-brexit-delay-adds-sense-fatigue-

190411135703403.html.

"What if British Americans staged a Brexit? we'd totally lose Utah." Washington Post,

www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/04/11/what-if-british-americans-staged-brexit-

wed-totally-lose-utah/?utm_term=.9c87b0898f1d.