A no-deal Brexit scenario would affect the British economy much more than the EU, according to research from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF report states that UK departure from the bloc without any kind of trade deal would reduce European GDP by up to 1.5 percent if the partners follow a so-called "WTO scenario" (trade on bare WTO terms).
The UK would, however, suffer greater economic losses from a no-deal Brexit in the long run, the IMF warned.
READ MORE: No-Deal Brexit Will Hit 'Prosperity' and 'Wellbeing' of EU Citizens – Official
A scenario in which the UK stays within the single market would have negligible economic repercussions. On the other hand, with a free trade deal, Brexit is expected to limit the damage to the EU economy to 0.8 percent of GDP.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU in March 2019. Last Thursday, Theresa May released her "Brexit white paper," which envisages a "principled, pragmatic and ambitious" negotiating strategy and aims to keep the UK and the EU within a free trade area with a "common rule book" for industrial goods and agricultural products, with a looser relationship for services. The long-awaited document came under sustained criticism from hard Brexiteers, who claim that the PM hasn't gone far enough in her break-up with the European Union.
