Leaving the European Union would cost British consumers 9 billion pounds ($13.2 billion) in annual additional import tariffs, World Trade Organization chief Roberto Azevedo said in an interview published by the Financial Times on Wednesday.
Britain's exports would be also burdened with 5.5 billion pounds of new tariffs in overseas markets, the paper said, and leaving the EU would require a full reboot of Britain's trade relations, akin to joining the WTO fr om scratch.
That would mean renegotiating the terms of trade with 161 WTO members, and losing the low-tariff or tariff-free access to 58 countries covered by 36 EU trade agreements.
"Pretty much all of the UK’s trade [with the world] would somehow have to be negotiated," Azevedo said.
G-7 summit kicks off, focus is on global economy
The Group of Seven summit opened in Ise-Shima in the western Japanese prefecture of Mie on Thursday morning. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed G-7 leaders at Ise Shrine, kicking off the two-day summit hosted by Japan.
The leaders of seven leading industrial nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S -- will begin talks at the main venue on Kashiko Island in the neighboring city of Shima in the afternoon. At the summit, they are expected to discuss the global economy, counterterrorism, refugee issues and ways to deal with tax avoidance practices.
On Thursday, Abe will host a meeting on the global economy, to which he is giving top priority during the summit. With the economies of emerging countries sputtering, the world is closely watching whether the G-7 leaders will be able to find a way to lead growth through financial and fiscal measures as well as structural reforms. The heads of state are also expected to exchange opinions about the current condition of the global economy and fiscal discipline.
Discussion will also focus on measures against terrorism, refugee crises and issues related to the South China Sea, wh ere China has been building military facilities on artificial islands.
On Friday, climate change and energy issues will be taken up. At an extended G-7 meeting scheduled for the sidelines, members will discuss infrastructure investment in Asia in addition to health and hygiene conditions in Africa, among other topics.
The price of Brent crude oil nudged above $50 per barrel on Thursday for the first time in 2016.
Brent crude had climbed as much as 0.7 per cent to $50.08 per barrel in early Asian trading, its highest since early November last year.
The rise was driven by US Energy Information Administration figures released yesterday that showed a decrease in crude stocks, by 4.2m barrels to 537.1m barrels, in the week to May 20. Crude oil imports fell 4.7 per cent to 7.3m barrels per day.
"While a move above $50 shouldn't necessarily be an important step, people often talk about oil as trading within certain ranges and so a move out of one - $40-50 in this case - can actually be quite an important psychological shift and be indicative of a more significant move to come, in this case higher," Craig Erlam, senior markets analyst at Oanda, said.
Reference: Reuters,Nikkei Asian Review,City A.M.
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