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Secretary-General Scotland said: “The Commonwealth is 53 countries and the challenge of Brexit faces all of them. Member states warned of the possible knock-on effect on key industries in the Commonwealth before the vote. The task for us now is to help the Commonwealth move from shock to solutions.
“Today we're publishing an analysis of the possible economic implications on specific Commonwealth countries. But it also begins to explore the opportunities that can result from Brexit, if countries have the right support.
"Our role is to be an honest broker. We have a team of trade and economic experts examining all angles of the likely impact of the UK’s decision to leave Europe on Commonwealth countries and that will form a key part of our discussions in Washington DC this week."
The latest Commonwealth paper estimates the UK to be the 4th most important market behind USA, China and Japan, for top Commonwealth exports. This is despite a 1.2 per cent fall last year in the share of Commonwealth exports coming to the UK.
“Our research shows that the UK is a very important market for many Commonwealth countries,” said Commonwealth head of economic policy Reginald Darius. “So obviously we are concerned about how an unfavourable post-Brexit UK trading regime and a sustained reduction in the pound will affect countries.
“Botswana, Seychelles, Belize, Bangladesh, Mauritius and Sri Lanka could take a big hit, because the UK accounts for more than 10 per cent of their total exports. Botswana relies on the UK market for more than half of its total exports.” [...]
The paper, she added, also promises a great potential for post-Brexit tade. The report shows that Commonwealth members are currently providing eight of the UK’s top 10 imports.
“Though their shares in these goods markets are relatively small, there is scope for the UK to really boost its trade with other Commonwealth countries.” [..]