No Deal, No Problem, Says OECD Boss: ‘Whole World is Running by WTO Rules These Days’

Jack Montgomery

José Ángel Gurría Treviño, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has confirmed the world’s advanced economies are “absolutely” ready for a No Deal Brexit, and that they would help the United Kingdom to make it happen in “the most seamless possible way”.

Speaking to the press at the elite World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland, the Mexican economist and former foreign minister was asked by Sky’s Ed Conway in a decidedly sceptical tone: “If there were to be a No Deal, do you think that, do you think, you know, your members, the advanced economies, are they ready for that?”

“Absolutely,” the top bureaucrat replied, perhaps unhelpfully.

“You know, what’s the worst [case] scenario? No Deal, [World Trade Organization] rules — the whole world is running by WTO rules these days,” he added nonchalantly.

Mr Gurría said he felt it was “unfortunate” that the United Kingdom was leaving the European Union, but was clear that it was “the will of the British people, so, you know, we take our bumps and we roll with it.”

“So you’re relatively sanguine about that,” the Sky presenter responded in surprise. “[S]ome people are very worried,” he added.

“The UK is a member of the OECD,” Gurría said matter of factly. “And we’re going to make sure that this happens in the most seamless possible way, [and] that, you know, the costs are lowered.”

Remainers in Britain have tried to characterise an exit from the EU on standard World Trage Organization terms without a formal agreement as “crashing out” or “falling off a cliff-edge”, with the country left vulnerable to shortages of food and medicine, epidemics of venereal disease, and even falling space debris.

Brexiteers have pointed to advanced democracies such as Australia and New Zealand which trade with the bloc on WTO terms without suffering from these sorts of problems, however, despite having significantly smaller economies than the United Kingdom.

Indeed, a Government whistleblower engaged in No Deal planning even felt obliged to come forward and reveal “Project Fear” is “absolutely untrue”, that the country is actually well-prepared for a WTO Brexit, and “it is purely a political decision not to make this clear to the public and nervous backbench MPs”.

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