[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by Liam Halligan

The good news? Using the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) instead is entirely acceptable. It would be a strategic error to think otherwise.

Trading under the global body’s rules is often presented as “disastrous”. That is both alarmist and wrong.

A “bold and ambitious” agreement, keeping trade with the EU largely free of tariffs, is obviously the UK’s preference. The PM made this clear in her Lancaster House speech of January 2017. If we don’t secure an agreement by March 2019, we will then charge reciprocal WTO tariffs, averaging two to three per cent.

This in no way stops UK trade with the EU, as some gloom-mongers claim. All nations have access to the single market provided regulatory standards are met and the generally low tariffs are paid.

The US and China conduct hundreds of billions of dollars of EU trade annually without a free trade agreement.

We can do the same. We already meet EU standards for products and services. And we already sell the majority of our exports beyond the EU, largely under WTO rules.

Liam Halligan's piece

IMHO a much more balanced view.