For businesses, the trade deal between Britain and the European Union comes as a relief, mitigating some of the worst disruption they face, but it won’t be a full substitute for membership of the bloc.
With the U.K. no longer part of the EU’s customs union and single market, trade won’t flow as smoothly as before. Companies will need to file new paperwork, and their products risk being held up at the border. Finance firms will lose their passport to offer services across the EU; and consumers will see their rights to live and stay on the other side of the channel curtailed. Even taking a pet dog to the continent will become more complicated.
