POTENTIAL MODELS OF A NEW RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE U.K. AND EU

Model	Access to Single Market?	Regulatory Restrictions?	Free Movement of People?	EU Legislation?	Impact on Your Business?
European Economic Area Agreement e.g., Norway	Yes — Free movement of goods, services and capital.	Harmonized product standards and service regulations.	Yes — Free movement of people would continue.	U.K. would still be required to adopt much EU law.	Least impact for businesses. Regulation and legislation in areas of competition law, consumer protection and environmental policy are unlikely to change.
Multiple Bilateral Accords e.g., Switzerland	Only in specific sectors covered by bilateral agreements.	U.K. would need to comply with EU regulatory requirements for exports to EU.	Yes — Likely U.K. would still have to sign up to free movement of people.	The U.K. would need "equivalent" laws to EU in areas such as consumer protection, competition law and environmental law.	Exports to EU would be more costly for businesses not covered by a bilateral agreement. Sectors covered by bilateral agreements may feel only minimal impact in the long term. However, it would take time to negotiate each agreement, causing disruption.
Customs Union e.g., Turkey	Yes for goods but not for services. Would have to impose the EU common tariff.	U.K. would need to comply with EU regulatory requirements for exports to EU.	No — U.K. could set own immigration policy.	The U.K. would need to harmonize laws in areas such as competition, intellectual property and consumer protection.	Could severely affect U.K. businesses exporting services to EU, for example, financial services and banking industries. U.K. may impose tighter immigration controls, restricting access to European labor market.
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) e.g., Singapore, Canada, South Korea	Potential access to whole or part of single market, depending on the agreement. FTAs are usually designed for free trade in products rather than services.	U.K. would need to comply with EU regulatory requirements for exports to EU.	No — U.K. could set own immigration policy.	No requirements to follow EU legislation.	Flexibility to legislate and regulate means U.K. businesses could benefit from removal of burdensome regulations. U.K. may relax some statutory employment laws. U.K. companies exporting to EU could face having to satisfy two sets of product standards/regulations. An FTA which does not include services would severely affect the U.K. financial services industry. Tighter immigration controls would limit access to EU labor.
World Trade Organization e.g., Current situation between EU and USA	No — U.K. exports to EU would be subject to the EU's common external tariff.	U.K. would need to comply with EU regulatory requirements for exports to EU.	No — U.K. could set own immigration policy.	No requirements to follow EU legislation.	Lack of access to single market would make exporting goods and services to EU more costly. Business could benefit from potential relaxation of some U.K. statutes and regulations as with an FTA. However, may have to face the costs of meeting two sets of regulations if exporting to EU. Tighter immigration controls would limit access to EU labor.