Art market will boom without EU obstacles

Why all this Brexit pessimism? Why focus on obstacles rather than opportunities? It’s mainly a function of how journalists operate: bad news sells. Still, there are plenty of sectors of our economy that stand to benefit.

Consider, for example, our art dealers. London is one of the great global centres of commerce in art and antiques, accounting for 65 per cent of art traded in the EU.

London’s art market generates more than enough tax to cover the entire Ulster spending deal. It has no competitors in the EU; its chief rivals are New York, Geneva and Hong Kong.

EU membership thus places London at a unique disadvantage. Hong Kong dealers don’t need to worry about the EU’s import taxes. New Yorkers are not troubled by the bizarre “droit de suite” rule, which levies a charge on every sale for the benefit of the heirs of the original artist.

For global traders, these marginal costs can determine where they transact business.

Next week, the chairman of the British Art Market Federation, Anthony Browne, will tell MPs that, if they take back control of the rules, they can restore London’s hegemony.

“Brexit provides a golden opportunity to improve the UK’s competitive position,” he says. “The removal of unnecessary red tape will have a major effect on future expansion.”

What goes for art goes equally for other sectors: fisheries, fund management, pharmaceuticals, farming.

Watch this space.