Brexit Could Cost Spain $1b in Exports

A leaked report from the Spanish government has detailed how the country could lose up to €1 billion ($1.07 billion) in exports as a result of Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Up to 800,000 Britons who live in Spain will also face an uncertain future when the UK eventually completes the Brexit process, as well as 300,000 Spaniards resident in Britain, Digitallook reported.

Spanish daily newspaper El Pais reported about the documents on Friday, in which Mariano Rajoy’s government warned of the “negative consequences” the departure would cause for Spain’s economy.

The report used figures provided by the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission, and estimated that the fallout from Brexit could shave between 0.2% and 0.4% from Spain’s GDP.

Tourism, food and pharmaceutical industries would be among the hardest hit in the country following Brexit, according to the report.

Spanish companies which operate and take revenue from the UK will suffer also, including Santander and Telefonica. “The economic bonds between the UK and Spain are very tight,” the report said.

There would be “innumerable repercussions” for the more than one million people who are living in Spain as UK citizens or vice versa.

Rajoy played down the impact of the report on Friday, telling reporters that Spain will enter into negotiations with an open mind.

“There’s no need to over-dramatize things,” Rajoy said. “What we need to do is have good negotiations. The UK wants good negotiations, so does Europe and so does Spain and I hope that things will turn out pretty well for everyone.”