In a little less than a month's time, the voters in the UK will be deciding whether or not to leave the EU. There have been all kinds of speculations about the effects should the UK depart. Some have been over the top with predictions that it will lead to World War III. Others have predicted the collapse of the UK economy (something that would also bring down the EU because of the level of goods and services the UK provides).
I have always thought the UK could do quite well should it leave the EU, forming separate trade agreements with many former members of the British Empire, the so-called Commonwealth nations - Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – and maybe even India. This has already been suggested by others, but I think maybe it doesn't go far enough.
As I have mentioned more than once, perhaps it would be better to form a new Free Trade Agreement, a somewhat broader version of NAFTA that removes (or at least greatly reduces) all trade barriers between the signatories. I think that in the long run all of the participating nations would benefit.
So, if the UK leaves the UK, I think we should consider asking the UK to join NAFTA, opening a much broader market for the UK and the present NAFTA members (Canada, Mexico, and the US). I would even go so far as to suggest asking Australia and New Zealand to do likewise. It could create a large and powerful economic bloc while showing the EU that “it ain't all that.”
I won't make the same mistake the EU made by suggesting a unified monetary system. We've already seen how that's played out in the EU. At least the UK didn't make the mistake of abandoning the pound which is why I think it's in better shape than it might have been otherwise.
The EU's loss could be our gain.
