, Columnists
The Real Prize in Brexit Trade Talks
See how big the goods trade deficit is? Now check the services surplus.
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There's been much ballyhoo this week about Britain's desire for some kind of temporary customs union post-Brexit. We may have to wait until Brussels gets back from its August holidays for a full sense of what European Union officials make of that.
But as the banking industry's lobbyists point out, this all kind of misses the main point anyway. Yes, the import and export of goods between the U.K. and the EU is huge and important. Just ask the car industry. While services make up almost 80 percent of British GDP, the country exports far more goods to the trading bloc than it does services.