Welsh Cabinet Meets after Brexit Results

The Welsh government cabinet met on June 27 to discuss its response to Great Britain’s decision to exit the European Union. Wales, the southwestern Celtic country of the United Kingdom, voted 53% versus 47% in favor of Brexit; still, Wales has faced student protests and angry, anxious, and disoriented citizens in the wake of the vote.The cabinet’s main agenda for the meeting reflected these concerns by addressing the economic health of Wales moving forward.

Although the Welsh Secretary of State, Alun Cairns, assured his constituents and the world that Wales will remain “open for business,” financial uncertainty is widespread. In the past, Wales has relied on international investments to fund industries like agriculture, and technology and electronics manufacturing. Without EU membership, the government of Great Britain, according to First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones, will have to use “every lever at our disposal,” to protect jobs, especially in the agriculture sector, which has benefitted the most from EU membership.

The South Wales Argus reports that in recent years, Welsh farms have received 500,000 Euros in investments from EU member nations. These investments were made possible by low transaction costs, a product of EU membership. European companies could manage supply chains with different parts in different locations, including Great Britain, without being subject to costly regulations.

Abi Reader, who operates a dairy farm 30 minutes from Cardiff, Wales, told The Guardian a few days before the Brexit vote that “free movement of goods, services, and capital is vital for business,” as she relies on selling raw materials to a milk plant run by Muller, a German company. With Great Britain separate from the EU, the costs of managing supply chain parts in Great Britain could increase. Export transactions between countries also have the potential be costlier as potential European trading partners will likely face more tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Despite widespread fear and anxiety, Secretary Cairns still claims that the Welsh economy will continue to stay in “robust form,” though he believes that “funding and support will inevitably be delivered in different ways in the future.”