Brexit
Brexit if you want to….
AJ Linn
The possibility of a Brexit is preying on the minds of UK expats in whatever
European country they may have taken up abode, but as it happens we are the
lucky ones as far as the essentials of life are concerned. The real victims will be
UK residents who enjoy a tipple.
If Brexit becomes a reality, travellers returning from Europe to Fortress Britain
will be restricted, as in the bad old days, to 16 litres of beer, 4 litres of wine and a
litre of spirits or two litres of fortified or sparkling wine.
However those who support minimum pricing as a way of reducing alcohol
consumption will be happy. Scotland's efforts to legislate accordingly were
thwarted by EU trade competition rules, but, if outside the EU, they will be able
to do what they want. A proposal to reduce duty on draught real ale and cider as
a way of getting people back to pubs will henceforth become easier as EU duty
rates on such items will not have to be respected. British winemakers, just
starting to get the international recognition they deserve, may find their exports
hampered by tax barriers set up when selling to EU countries.
A serious commercial threat would be the effect on geographical food and drink
denominations, currently protected EU-wide by law. No longer in the Brussels
club, a British maker of Stilton cheese, for example, could be involved in
expensive legal battles to stop a French producer selling 'Stilton' to the USA or
Russia. Scotch whisky distillers would also be seriously affected until adequate
UK/EU treaties were signed – years away.
It is hard to think how the resident expat who seldom leaves Spain would suffer,
except that UK-sourced products may be subject to higher taxes, whether
personal possessions or mail order and online purchases.
In any case many of us will not have a great deal of interest in the matter by the
time the final ties are cut in the decade or so it will take to complete the
formalities of a Brexit.
Shall we open that second bottle now?