With reliance on EU products returning to pre-Brexit levels, closer supplier ties will be essential to managing uncertainty in the market, writes Pablo Cristi Worm.

“Car crash!” exclaimed managing director Andrew Varga, whose Brexit progress I have been following since the referendum. News of the latest Brexit U-turn landed on him on Tuesday out of the blue. All his years of preparation for a new UK product safety mark, all his thousands of pounds wasted, all the uncountable hours and effort were rendered pointless, at a stroke.

If Britain ends up in the recession expected by the Bank of England, public anger will be looking for an outlet. / I asked Albrecht Ritschl, professor of economic history at the LSE, what single move the UK government could make to alleviate the pain. “Suspend Brexit for 20 years.”

The UK debate about Brexit’s impact on the economy has ranged from non-existent to unserious. Labour is avoiding the subject, to try to regain lost voters in pro-Brexit constituencies, and the government immediately changes the subject to vaccines or free trade deals.

Our silence over the issue is compounding the problem.

The Covid threat to GDP is waning, but don’t expect the pain wrought by leaving the EU to subside any time soon.

The latest opinion piece from the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) notes postponing import checks from the EU leaves UK meat exporters at a significant disadvantage.

The prime minister has imperilled peace in Northern Ireland, and every day the economic fallout worsens.

EU must continue to monitor and ensure that the British hold up their side of the bargain.

Could Brexit mean cheaper food on our supermarket shelves? The idea has been propagated by politicians such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and business people like JD Wetherspoon’s owner Tim Martin, who promised lower prices in his “Beermat Manifesto”.

The U.S. wants to move the U.K. away from the EU’s set of trade rules and regulations toward the American one. Farage and Johnson are easy prey.