Britain’s economy would be hit seven times harder than the rest of the EU and slip into recession in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the IMF forecast on Tuesday in a special analysis in its flagship World Economic Outlook.
As Prime Minister Theresa May attempts to broker a Brexit compromise with the Labour party and persuade the EU27 to allow another delay in the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc, the IMF’s analysis suggests the economic stakes could not be higher.
If European leaders do not agree another extension to the Article 50 process of leaving the EU on Wednesday, Britain will automatically leave the bloc without a deal on Friday evening in a hard Brexit that would send a shock through the UK economy, the IMF warned.
Although financial markets have increasingly discounted the possibility of a no-deal outcome, the fund warned that it was important to avoid the costs of a sudden disruption in trade and economic ties between the EU and UK.
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