Day of reckoning for Europe

Today, citizens of the United Kingdom are voting on whether to remain in the European Union, or leave.

The vote is the result of a referendum called by Prime Minister David Cameron, and both the “Remain” and “Leave” campaigns have (like political campaigns in other parts of Europe and in the US lately) been unpleasant.

We bring up this topic here because trade – the driver of the air freight and express industry – will likely be negatively impacted if the UK exits the EU.

Even granting that the EU is a flawed concept, it is hard to see an advantage to the UK in leaving, rather than staying in and working to fix the flaws. But we at Cargo Facts are not economists or political scientists. Nor are we Europeans or Britons. So rather than pretending a knowledge we don’t have, we offer links to two pieces recently published on the potential Brexit by European trade and logistics journalists for whom we have great respect.

The first, by Will Waters and Mike King at Lloyd’s Loading List, looks at the issue from the economic and political perspective, analyzing the potential impact on trade. You can read it here.

The second, by Alex Lennane and Gavin van Marle at The Loadstar, is written more from a more personal point of view. You can read it here.

From the beginning, the outcome of the vote has been too close to predict. But, as we publish this, the polls are about to close in the UK, and tomorrow morning Britons, Europeans, and the rest of the world will have their answer.

Or maybe a whole new series of questions.