SINGAPORE (March 29): Even with the official commencement of the Brexit process – as finalised by Prime Minister Theresa May’s signature on the letter to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty today – Bank of Singapore’s (BoS) chief economist Richard Jerram is certain that a deal for the UK to leave the Union is “almost impossible”.

“To reach an agreement on such a complicated issue as market access – a new trade deal – in such a short time frame is hard to imagine,” expounds Jerram in an economics research report on Wednesday, noting that the UK is “not well-placed to bear the costs of a messy exit” given its large budget and trade deficits.

Unrealistic schedule
For starters, Jerram notes a challenging timetable for the exit to occur given EU’s intention to come to a deal on the UK’s bill for exiting first, before discussing residency rights of EU citizens living in the UK, and vice versa. The situation is further exacerbated by the need for each of the remaining EU members to ratify any deal, which is expected to take six months, he adds.

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