Implications Of Brexit On The Businesses In The United Arab Emirates

"Brexit", is a blend of words British and Exit and was coined by Peter Wilding. The Oxford English Dictionary in 2016 added Brexit to its volumes and awarded the honour of coining the term to Mr. Wilding. It is believed that the term Brexit was coined on the pattern of Grexit- a term for withdrawal of Greece from the eurozone. Brexit is now used worldwide to refer to the United Kingdom's (UK) official withdrawal from the European Union (EU).

On 23 June 2016, a referendum was held in the UK where 17.4 million people voted in favour of Brexit. Even after almost three years of the referendum, the UK has not officially left the EU because the Members of Parliament are yet to make a decision with regards to the Brexit deal. The EU has now agreed to further extend the deadline for Brexit until 31 January 2020. If the UK leaves, it would be the first member state to withdraw from the EU.

Impact of Brexit

It is believed that the UK's exit from EU will among other things have a significant, negative impact on many businesses around the globe, regardless of the sector they operate in, even if these businesses do not operate in the UK or even in Europe. It is believed that every functioning industry will be affected by Brexit and will face different challenges; some industries will be affected more than others. For instance, Brexit will bring real risks of increased costs and delay to supply chains, and there will be several changes in the customs laws. How Brexit will affect business will be different across the board. Prof Ashish Arora, Duke University, states, "The interesting question is who will make money out of a Brexit. Brexit is bad for business. Even firms not in the UK or Europe will feel the pain because value chains are globally integrated. On the demand side, EU growth will be slower, which will hurt as well."

As UK is yet to decide on their exit from EU, countries around the world are evaluating how Brexit will affect their interests. As a result of Brexit UK's trade policy are likely to change. This change could have dramatic consequences for some developing countries. While the UAE's economy may be protected by shockwaves created by Brexit, some impacts are likely to be still felt in the medium to longer-term, with some sectors benefiting and others being put at a disadvantage.

The UAE and the UK have had a long-standing peaceful relationship, which extends to their trading relationship as well. Owing to their long-time trading...