In the early hours of Friday 24 June it was clear the British people had voted to leave the EU. Just after 8 am Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would leave office with a new Conservative leader, and Prime Minister, to be elected in September. This was a seismic event for Britain and the impact is still being felt in Europe and around the world. But what does it mean specifically for the relationship between Britain and Israel?

The economic implications are varied. The UK is Israel’s second largest trading partner, bilateral trade is worth £5 billion a year and has doubled in the last decade. Israeli companies listed in the UK have been hit by the market volatility and the value of the pound has decreased significantly meaning Israeli goods sold in the UK will become more expensive to UK consumers. The expanding hi-tech partnership between Israeli programming and British design and marketing expertise is unlikely to be affected as the European single market doesn’t yet cover digital services. In the longer term, Britain will need to negotiate a separate trade agreement with Israel as Israel’s association agreement with the EU will no longer apply to UK-Israel trade once the UK leaves. If the UK falls into recession then bilateral trade could decrease in value as UK consumers spend less money. But there could be enhanced terms for some Israeli exports, especially agricultural produce, to the UK market once it is out of the EU.

Read the full article at Times of Israel