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Nicolas Bay also believes there is a good prospect of a trade deal with the United States to offset the damage of a hard Brexit, and warned that Ireland in particular would be hit hard by such an outcome. Bay, who is the secretary general of the right-wing National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen, delivered a fiery speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday in which he suggested that failing to reach a deal would be far worse for the EU than for the EU. UNITED KINGDOM.
And speaking to Express.co.uk afterwards, he explained his reasons in more detail.
He said: “The worst case scenario would certainly be a poorly prepared no-deal, an anarchic situation.
“The stakes are huge on both sides, our economies are at similar levels and produce different goods: the absence of a trade agreement would leave entire sectors vulnerable, tens of thousands of jobs on both sides.
“This is particularly true for the Franco-British relationship.
“But the UK could probably change quickly thanks to the Commonwealth.
“The political, cultural and linguistic proximity to the entire Anglo-Saxon world would allow his country to compensate quickly.”
READ MORE: Vengeful Brussels bans trade talks in ‘to punish UK’
Bay also suggested that being outside the EU would allow the UK to focus on its own interests without having to take into account the economies of 27 other member states.
He explained: “Furthermore, the UK could once again, if necessary, place tariffs on certain strategic products to protect its economy and allow other goods to arrive duty free.”
“In general, the UK would be better equipped to absorb the impact of a no-deal than some EU countries.”
Ray Bassett, Ireland’s former ambassador to Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas, also believes that the UK will be able to prosper outside the bloc by establishing what he called an “Anglophone alliance” with the United States and Canada.
In his recently published book, Ireland and the EU Post Brexit, Mr. Bassett wrote: “Despite the quixotic short-term behavior of the Trump administration, there is a good chance that an English-speaking free trade area will emerge in the North Atlantic, which covers the US, Canada and Great Britain.
“This would be part of an alternative business strategy for the UK, after Brexit.”
Turning to his own country, he adds: “When Ireland’s two biggest trading partners start moving towards a new mutually beneficial deal, it is time to take serious notice.
“While US relations with the UK are likely to warm considerably in the coming years, the same cannot be said for EU-US relations, which have been under strain since President Trump was elected in the United States in 2016.
Ireland has a vested interest in maintaining harmonious relations between Brussels and Washington.
However, it is doubtful whether the interest of Ireland is an important consideration for the EU Commission and its relations with Washington.
“It will mainly deal with higher value items, such as German auto exports and German investment in the US.
(Additional reporting by Maria Ortega)
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