If that happens, won't that create a huge hole in the legal system so that lots of different scams suddenly became legal for example?A lot of people would get wealthy on the expense of the average Briton's health and well being.
Yes, yes it will.
In fact, every law or provision which is mentioning EU legislation will have to be combed through and considered, or if not, UK law will end up being 40 years out of touch with reality, and Parliament will have to play a lot of catch up.
Of course, all laws about internal matters can be left as is, but everything interacting with the EU or with other entities which previously interacted with the UK through the EU, must be looked at.
It is not strictly necessary to have a trade deal at all.
If one is prepared to accept the risks that (a) the EU may ask UK passport holders to
apply for work permits before seeking work in the EU, (b) the EU may impose some
modest import duties on UK exports and (c) the EU requires the financial services
sector to comply with EU rules for doing business in the EU; there is very little to do.
Not much more than a "We are leaving as of 1 April 2017. Good Luck" letter.
There will be some minor tidying up regarding UK law, but that does not require
any negotiation with the rest of the EU and can simply be tackled afterwards.
Thing is the people who voted Remain are just inventing obstacles.
The people voted "Leave", not Leave providing (a), (b), (c) ..(z).
How about a hypothetical example of a bank in the UK which is handling pension savings for a company in Austria? Perhaps they have a 8-year contract about it, with several clauses about reparations if one of them withdraws from the deal. Maybe the pensions are invested in long-term instruments which can't be sold within the next five years.
What will they do when the UK leaves? Who will cover the costs of ending this deal? Will any of the withdrawal clauses be invoked, so should any of them pay for damages? Should the bank dump the assets at any price so they can return the pension money the company invested with them? If not, who covers the extra costs of transferring the final returns back into the EU in five years time? Should the bank and the company deal with this themselves? Should the UK government and the EU help? How?
Or another hypothetical example: A UK company which makes a special type of heat treated material for a German car factory. Their product is advanced, but not unique, so they do have competition in France. They got the contract because they were marginally cheaper for the customer, which matters with the big volume they are trading. The contract is for 10 years, with an option of renewal, so the UK company has invested in a bigger production line to be able to deliver more products and make more profits.
What happens to them when the UK leaves? Obviously the German company can switch suppliers and go with the French company if the UK one is too expensive after tariffs, but that assumes that the French company has the available capacity, or will have it in time. Good manufacturers have very tiny stockpiles of parts these days, and rely on a continuous flow of parts from their suppliers. Who covers the costs if the UK company can't deliver for a few days, because a problem in customs? And if the UK company loses business in the EU because their marginal cost becomes higher than their competitors inside the EU, what will they do with the expanded capacity? Will the UK government cover their losses for their investment?
"Minor tidying up" doesn't even begin to cover all the questions and dilemmas which arises with the UK leaving. It is fully legal and fully possible of course, but it's going to be
a lot of work, and you still have
no plans!
Just two years to negotiate about everything and solve all the problems sounds certifiably utopian.
