From the BBC:
The head of France's main farmers' union has warned that a no-deal Brexit could have a severe impact on French agricultural exports.
Christiane Lambert of the FNSEA union said French wine and spirits producers would be hit hardest, as their sector had a €1.3bn (£1.1bn; $1.5bn) annual surplus in trade with the UK. Dairy goods and fruit are also major French exports. A UK no-deal exit from the EU would bring new customs checks and rules.
Ms Lambert told broadcaster France Info that "the British are very fond of Camembert and Brie... Brie exported dairy products would come back to Europe and push prices down. Theapple sector would also be badly hit - France is the biggest supplier of apples to the UK - and then there are [French] vegetables and cereals."
She warned that the UK would revert to "third country" status with a no-deal Brexit, "and it could restrict imports - that's our fear".
Under no deal, the UK would leave the EU single market and customs union, ending its current special trading conditions with the other 27 EU member states. There are fears that no deal could mean painful new tariffs for exporters on both sides, and other trade barriers.
So how is France preparing for a no-deal Brexit?
On Thursday France announced a contingency plan for a no-deal scenario, including nearly 600 extra customs inspectors to staff ports and airports. Calais - the main hub for trade with the UK - has started expanding its facilities to cope with possible delays and traffic queues.
That's called getting your retaliation in first!
Here's an idea: the EU and the UK enter into an agreement saying that there will be
a) mutual recognition of standards (seeing as UK regulations on Day One will be identical to EU standards and will only diverge slowly over time), and
b) no imposition of quotas or tariffs on trade between the EU and the UK.
Everyone's a winner! Over to you, France/EU!
Debate Magazine
