Having a “Hard Brexit” six months ago would have been significantly better than having one today, business leaders from around the north-east heard yesterday.
Around 100 delegates gathered at the Chester Hotel in Aberdeen to hear how they can better protect themselves from uncertain political and economical times ahead.
Conducting a keynote speech Simon Hart, Brexit partner at RSM, and Joe Brusuelas, the firm’s chief economist delivered an engaging and informative presentation delivered in partnership with the Press and Journal.
Mr Hart said: “You kind of naively hope there is going to be some degree of certainty, not just with regards to Brexit but also with what’s happening in the US and the rest of the world to actually give you some degree of insight so you can plan your businesses.
“Unfortunately here we are. It’s about three years since the result of the referendum and we are still hearing that word uncertainty and it’s something we’ve become more and more used to. Like the quote ‘three hours too soon is better than being one minute too late’ it invariably may be the case that having a hard Brexit six months ago might have been a hell of a lot better than it would be today.”
Mr Brusuelas explained the global economy “peaked” in the third quarter of last year and as a result would have been a better time to divorce from Europe.
He said: “A year and a half ago we were talking about a synchronised global growth period. That’s come to an end. A hard Brexit means you will be doing so while going into a global manufacturing recession.
“Any benefits that were derived before the deprecation of Sterling has already been wiped out.
“The only economy which is still growing in the manufacturing sector is the US but we’ve already received data for June which strongly suggests by the end of the summer the US will join its trade partners in a manufacturing recession.”