It’s about services, stupid

The problem with this, as Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform points out in a timely paper, is that said trade agreements tend not to go far beyond WTO commitments in any case.

...As Lowe points out, the default outcome is probably that trade in services between London and Brussels will increasingly come through allowing UK firms to set up in the EU rather than providing services across borders. That will respect the UK’s desire to set its own regulations, but will also mean jobs being created outside it.The paper estimates sharp drops in UK exports to the EU, including a huge 59 per cent drop for financial services. The cost of sovereignty is significant.