It’s high time for a clear Brexit roadmap

Brexit pressure is mounting on Theresa May and the British Prime Minister will have to cross the molehills before she hits the mountain ahead. While Japan has warned that its companies might walk out if they don’t get access to the single market in the UK, the US has shown its reluctance to enter into a trade deal with Britain. Even as May met her Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull for post-Brexit trade talks, EU commission chief Jean-Claude Junker vented his ire by saying, “I don’t like the idea that member states of the EU, including those who are still a member state of EU, are negotiating free trade agreements.”
Prolonged uncertainty over Brexit process and lack of clarity over a plan to ensure a smooth pullout from EU could throw May in an apparent cul-de-sac. The investors, taxpayers and EU leaders are losing patience as they can’t see a tangible Brexit strategy, even after two-and-a-half months since the June 23 referendum.
May says she wants to see Britain to be a “global leader in free trade”. She is looking for the right partners in progress. Apart from Australia, the British PM is trying to woo India, Mexico, South Korea and China. However, the problem is that there is a lot of ambiguity on how Britain’s relationship with these countries will look like in the post-Brexit era. And until that remains, roadblocks will derail any agreement that Britain wants to put on track. While assuring these trade partners, May has to hardsell London’s business potential in the new scenario. Britain can’t lose Japan too, whose investments in the UK are valued at $51 billion. The potential threats that the Japanese firms face have to be allayed. An enhanced predictability and transparency about trade can only put the fears at rest. The UK needs EU as well and its departure from the bloc shouldn’t affect economic ties with the member states.
Immigration was the biggest issue that triggered the Brexit. May should tread cautiously on the matter. She has already earned wrath of the pro-Leave supporters by rejecting the points-based system. They have of late turned their heat on Polish migrants. There has been an escalation in xenophobic sentiments since the June 23 vote. May must not add fuel to the fire.
The best way forward for Britain would be to speed up efforts to clear the air of uncertainty looming over its Brexit plan. Brexit Secretary David Davis has a staff of 180 in London and 120 advisers in Brussels to assist him in the departure process, but there has been no initiative to work towards devising a pullout strategy. Emily Thornberry, foreign affairs spokeswoman for UK’s main opposition Labour party, has accused the government of having gone from gross negligence to rank incompetence (when it comes to planning). May says she needs time for the exit process. But procrastinating the action plan will make things worse for her and multiply the challenges she currently faces.
After invoking Article 50, the EU treaty allows two years of negotiations. Britain can extend this deadline further to ensure an orderly transition. But a start has to be made towards departure as swiftly as possible. Without putting a comprehensive plan in place and working out the details, Britain’s Brexit confusion won’t go away. It will compound.