Davos - Arab Today
The head of the International Monetary Fund “Christine Lagarde” has warned the British Government of the economic pain ahead after UK’s divorce of the European Union, she added that the uncertainty regarding the commercial conditions between the EU and Uk has a bad impact on growth.
Christine Lagarde predicted that the UK’s European divorce would be a long and complicated process, while shamelessly admitting that Britain’s economy had performed above IMF predictions.
Her message comes after Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said a post-Brexit trade deal between Britain and the EU must be inferior to full membership of the bloc.
Before the referendum result, Ms Lagarde and her organisation said a vote to leave the EU would have consequences ranging from “quite bad to very, very bad”, but the IMF has since admitted that it had been too pessimistic.
Lagarde added on the Brexit :“When you belong to a club, whatever that is, the members of the club have a degree of affinity and particular terms under which they operate, Somebody outside the club has a different access, and I think he is referring to that.”
Ms Lagarde continued: “Once uncertainty clear if people feel that their ability to set up shop in the UK and operate throughout the geographical area that is the European Union is not working as well as it did, the investment decision will change.”
Earlier this week the IMF upgraded Britain’s growth forecast for 2017, but continued to insist the country will experience a downturn the following year.