YP Letters: Britain will sell to the world once rid of EU stranglehold

NO ONE can see the future, especially the complex interactions consequent upon Brexit in a fairly free market like the UK, despite what the self-styled “experts” would have you think. In reality the EU is less important to us than the rest of the world. And both are far less important than our domestic economy.

We already export to the rest of the world using the WTO trade rules. And despite the fact we currently pay other countries import duties, we are still more successful exporting around the world than to the EU. So we can use the WTO regime, as the EU is obliged to do also, charging UK import duties just as we will have to pay the EU’s tariffs.

That will not be a problem overall because the EU sells much more to us than we sell to them (£318bn vs £214bn in 2016), so for similar tariff levels we would be quids in. And if we lower and simplify the complex EU tariff structure we would lower prices to the consumer, and improve efficiency, whilst still off-setting EU tariffs for our exporters.

From: Don Wood, Howden.

PLEASE may I be allowed to congratulate GP Taylor on his excellent article on Brexit (The Yorkshire Post, January 3).

Mr. Taylor makes only one error in this first-rate article, and that is describing the EU as Europe. The EU is not Europe – nearly half the countries that make up the continent of Europe are not members.

The biggest and most powerful, Russia, accounts for 37 per cent of the land mass and has never even applied to join.

From: Ian Smith, Colston Close, Bradford.

IF GP Taylor’s prediction turns out to be accurate, then the sore losers will be gloating winners, and Britain’s majority will have lost. So how does that play out in modern democracy? What we knew and loved of it will have ended, because arrogance and selfishness will have won.

From: A Collier, Gordon Road, Bridlington.

THERESA May has for some time been tied up with EU matters. I am convinced that they are making it as difficult as possible with negotiations. A pity she can’t stick two fingers up and walk away!

In the meantime, she is out of touch with home affairs, such as the recent decisions by Jeremy Hunt and Chris Grayling over health and transport. Both will be to blame if the the Tories lose the next election.