No Deal ‘would cost families £500 a year’

MILLIONS of families would be hit by price rises adding up to more than £500 a year if Britain leaves the European Union without a trade deal, a report has warned.

The average annual household bill would rise by £260 in a ‘no deal’ scenario, as Britain would then impose the same tariffs on imports from the EU as it does for other members of the World Trade Organisation. The report found that levies on dairy imports would rise by 45 per cent, meat

products by 37 per cent, and clothing, footwear, drinks and tobacco by 10 per cent, which would cause significant price increases.

But it would mean an estimated three million low-income homes – which tend to spend a greater share of their income on items which would be most affected by new tariffs – could see rises of more than £500 a year, the joint report by the Resolution Foundation and Sussex University’s UK Trade Policy Observatory found.