The short, sharp shock of no-deal Brexit

General Motors CEO Mary Barra speaks to reporters after a meeting with Sen Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to discuss GM’s announcement it would stop making the Chevy Cruze at its Lordstown, Ohio, plant, part of a massive restructuring for the Detroitbased

LONDON, Dec 9, (AFP): A popular London wine merchant became the latest business last month to start stockpiling in case Britain splits from the European Union without a deal in March.

The possibility of Britain breaking off from its main trading partner without any arrangements in place will grow if the UK parliament rejects the draft withdrawal agreement on Tuesday.

Doom-and-gloom predictions about life after a “no-deal” Brexit are plentiful and highly politically charged.

The truth is no one really knows what will happen because Britain is the first to leave the bloc.

But here are some things London is telling Britons to brace for in the first days of a worst-case scenario pullout.

Rip-off roaming – We check our mobiles incessantly and this is where people could notice things first.

Free roaming would no longer apply and UK mobile phone operators can start charging extra for subscribers who pop off to “the Continent”.

London is also urging people in Northern Ireland to watch out for “inadvertent roaming” when straying too close to the EU border with Ireland.

Grounded at Heathrow – Heathrow and other big airports can be a nightmare at the best of times.

automaker, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Dec 5. General Motors is fighting to retain a valuable tax credit for electric vehicles as the nation’s largest automaker grapples with the political fallout triggered by its plans to shutter several US factories and shed thousands of workers. (AP )

But planes getting grounded when Brexit strikes at 2300 GMT on March 29 because airlines lose their licences would create chaos that ripples across the world.

London says it would “envisage” granting European carriers special permission to keep flying – and that it would “expect” the 27 EU countries to do the same.

Forms, forms, forms – Prepare to start signing your name. A lot.

Thousands of companies that do business with Europe would have to fill out reams of customs and duties declarations.

Permits

Tourists who want to rent a car may need to get international driving permits because their UK licences become invalid.

And even pets might need to jump through new administrative hoops that require them to have new passports.

People might want to check theirs as well. Those that expire within six months of travel might need to be renewed in advance.

Drug dilemma – Things turn more serious for those who rely on medication.

Officials are talking to drug companies about creating a six-week “buffer stock” on top of the three months they already have in place.

This should help cover any shortterm

was happening.

Salvini, head of the rightist League, has clashed repeatedly with Macron in the past over immigration policy and has leapt on the anti-government demonstrations rocking Paris as proof the French president has lost his political touch.

“History will probably show that if (Macron) had focused more on the French and less on Salvini and Italy, he would have a few less problems today,” Salvini, flush from the success of a mass rally in Rome on Saturday, told Rai 3 TV.

“Macron reduced taxes for the very well-off and increased them for those less well off,” he added, saying the Italian government had no intention of following this example.

France’s “yellow vest” protests have taken aim at Macron’s liberal economic reforms, and have forced the French government to cancel a planned rise in taxes on petrol and diesel.

Salvini said the Italian government was taking a very different path to Paris and defended its big-spending 2019 budget, which has fallen foul of the European Commission.

“Do people in Italy want scenes like we seen in Paris? ... No. I want to prevent this. I want to help businesses, families and also the 5 million poor people (here). A country with 5 million poor people can’t move ahead,” he said.

The Italian budget promises to lower the retirement age and introduce income support. The European Commission has rejected the package, saying it will not cut Italy’s large public debt as the rules require, and has warned it could discipline Rome unless changes are made.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is looking to negotiate a compromise, but Salvini gave no indication on Sunday that the government was willing to make substantial alterations to its budget plans.

“Seeing what is going on in Paris, I refuse to believe that Brussels, for the sake of a few decimal places, will impose sanctions, inspectors and commissars. We are Italy. We have shown ourselves to be a serious country,” he said.

The budget forecasts a deficit of 2.4 percent of gross domestic product next year from 1.8 percent this year, and the commission has called for this target to be cut.

Salvini said the initial calculations were being reviewed to see if the budget could be introduced with a deficit of “2.4, 2.5 or 2.3”.

Italian business leaders have also expressed concern over the budget, saying it doesn’t do enough to help growth or encourage investment.

Looking to win over the industrialists, Salvini met representatives of 14 professional lobby groups on Sunday to hear their complaints and recommendations.

“For the first time in six months, this government is listening to us and we have entered a dialogue,” said Vincenzo Boccia, head of the employers’ group Confindustria. “Now however we expect to see results, facts.” disruptions at the border. Britain will also waive the need for EU firms to re-test their drugs under new rules.

Shoppers beware – That one-click purchase at your favourite online store might start looking slightly less tempting.

The government says “increased costs and slower processing times” for payments made in euros are a possibility.

Parcel deliveries could get more expensive because waivers for certain import and sales taxes would expire.

Flicks and tunes – Catching up on the latest Netflix releases while coasting on a high-speed Eurostar train may suddenly become a whole lot harder.

Britons could theoretically lose access to streaming services while abroad – everything from Spotify to Amazon Prime – because the UK would no longer be in Europe’s “digital single market”.

And the Eurostar service itself might be in trouble because old licenses of UK train operators in Europe will be invalid.

Surprises – A host of other industries and products could also be affected.

Britain will have to come up with its own warning stickers for packs of cigarettes because the current ones are protected by the EU image library.