A surge in coronavirus cases is increasing the pressure to seal a post-Brexit trade deal. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set Oct 15 as the deadline for finalizing a post Brexit deal which will take effect once the United Kingdom leaves informal EU membership at the end of this year. As the deadline to secure a deal draws closer, analysts argue that it has become even more important to secure a trade deal that will avoid higher trading costs for UK companies in order to help mitigate economic damage caused by the pandemic. 

New research by law firm Baker & Mckenzie predicts that failure to secure a deal could cost the United Kingdom around £134 billion ($174 billion) each year in lost GDP for a decade. It is predicted that the COVID-19 outbreak will cut Britain’s GDP by 2.2% below anticipated pre-pandemic levels. On top of that Brexit is expected to cut GDP by 3.1% with exports falling by 6.3%. However, without a trade deal, the cost of Brexit could increase to 3.9% of GDP in the long run.

We have included a selection of our most popular market research on Brexit below.