As the United Kingdom prepares for the impending doom of Brexit, the government upgrades its foreign policy to compensate for their loss. Ever since the country announced its intention to withdraw its membership from the prestigious European Union (EU), the UK faced an uncertain future. Let us uncover the strategies the United Kingdom is taking to recuperate their economy and global position from Brexit.
“Global Britain”
As a member of EU, every member enjoys free trading among European countries. It means that most European businesses only need to pay a unified tax and customs duties imposed by the organization. Some European countries even lift their customs duties to enable free international trade in the region. European businesses took advantage of the free trade to expand their customer outreach and operations globally. Suffice to say that every country under the European economy, including the UK, is booming because of this unified international trade.
However, due to the impending Brexit, millions of British businesses may face paying hefty taxes and customs fees for their imported/exported goods and services. Not only that, but they may also need to get different import and export permits and pay different fees depending on their targeted European country. Brexit imposes an additional cost for British businesses to pay, limiting their operations in the process. Aside from affecting the British business sector, millions of British workers are also at risks of losing their jobs due to tight economy.
The business sector’s woes prompted the UK government to plan legal remedies to prevent the downsizing of businesses and jobs from happening. The government wants to reassure their citizens that they won’t get affected by Brexit. The Department of International Trade just launched their new slogan entitled “Global Britain” that aims to connect the country to the world through free trade, not just in the European region.
Great Britain will continue to strengthen its European alliance while also reaching out to global emerging countries they’ve never engaged with before. The country wants to position itself as the home for foreign policy and international trade, and they hope that they can realize it after Brexit. The UK government will also continue their funding to the European Development Fund to contribute to Europe’s economic growth.
Magna Carta Fund
Aside from international trade, Great Britain also aims to implement Magna Carta Fund with its partnering countries. The said program will cover the following projects:
- Determine the root problem of human rights violations
- Strengthen the governing bodies to protect human rights
- Promote democracy while upholding the rule of law
Furthermore, they will increase their financial support to the International Criminal Court to improve global human rights.
Technology and Innovation
The United Kingdom also wants to position itself as the pioneer for technological innovation by investing heavily in technology. So far, the government has invested in autonomous cars. It also urges the businessmen to explore the possibilities of quantum technology. They invited different sectors like finance, pharmaceuticals, and transport to discuss the current challenges. They urged startup businesses to develop a solution through quantum technology.
Aside from that, the UK government believes that quantum technology can help address the problems in the gas and oil sector. Quantum technology has the potential to manage the oil pipes under the sea. The Research Head for UK Research and Innovation (UKIR) announced the public funding and research guidelines for the said project. The UK government encourages businessmen to present their brilliant ideas.
A Brighter or a Dimmer Future?
Now that the UK government had laid out its plans, do you think these are enough to recover from Brexit? The UK government hopes so. They hope that through these steps, the country will be able to retain its global position and keep the economy booming. However, only time will tell whether UK’s decision to withdraw from EU is right or not.
