Here’s How a No-Deal Brexit Would Shock Virus-Hit U.K. Companies
- Retail, agriculture, manufacturing most vulnerable to no deal
- Little progress in U.K.-EU trade talks increases fears
June 8: Brexit Negotiators Call for Backup
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Trade talks between the EU and U.K. have struggled in recent weeks, increasing the prospect that Britain departs the bloc without a deal and that businesses face an extreme shock when the divorce takes effect.
It’s a scenario that would deepen the economic pain inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic, with companies already reeling from the damage of the national lockdown and the economy heading for its deepest recession in centuries. Unemployment has surged and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is caught between trying to revive businesses while avoiding a deadly second spike of the disease.