Brexit

Rex Snow, MVC News Editor

On June 23, 2016, a referendum was held over whether or not the the United Kingdom should remain part of the European Union. Fifty-two percent voted in favor of leaving the EU. As a result, Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union was invoked, allowing the UK to start a two-year process to exit the European Union with the deadline on April 12, 2019.

The European Union is a political and economic union that shares a single internal market through a standard system of laws applied to all union members. The EU also has goals to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the internal market of the EU. Furthermore, the EU shares a monetary union with the same currency, known as a euro.

Now there are talks about how the the current Brexit will play out. The UK’s best hope would be able to negotiate trade deals with the EU and the rest of the world before detaching itself from the union. A no-deal Brexit would mean that the UK would leave the EU without making any deals. This would be catastrophic for the UK’s economy as trade will cease until trade deals are negotiated with the EU.

“I hope that the United Kingdom manages to work out a deal before they leave so that the damage caused by the Brexit is minimized,” said Samuel Frye, 12.

The Brexit has an impact on the United States as well. The UK has to negotiate it’s deals with the United States.  Furthermore, an increase in market volatility caused by the Brexit may change the way in American investor’s and business spend in the UK. Investments to and from the UK may now be seen as more risky and thus, not worthwhile. Overall, the overall economic relationship between the U.S and UK will be altered.