Why would companies keep duplicate European HQ's in UK if there is a Brexit?

[Pangurban1]

London is a major financial location and there are many companies who have their HQ in the UK. Currently, this also satisfies a need to have a presence in the EU.

If there is a Brexit, and they have to install a new office within the EU, say somewhere like Frankfurt, why would they continue to also maintain a presence in London? Would the relevance of London/UK decline wrt EU duplicates of financial and other company HQ's if it is outside the EU?

[SpringingIntoAction]

Why then did Boeing announce that their new European HQ was to be in the UK - an announcement made AFTER the referendum was called?

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3497621/Boeing-s-Brexit-boost-World-s-largest-aircraft-maker-picks-Britain-home-new-European-headquarters.html

Avon Cosmetics also decided to move their business from America to the UK - AFTER the referendum was announced.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35808678

Aston Martin decided to open a factory in Wales - AFTER the referendum was announced

www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/24/james-bond-carmarker-aston-martin-to-open-wales-factory-for-dbx-model

If your belief that they would need to duplicate offices or leave were true why would they even consider coming to the UK in the first place? Answer - because the UK offers huge benefits to companies as we are outside the eurozone, speak English and have a stable economy, in or out of the EU.

Meanwhile one of those big banks HSBC is actually cutting its UK workforce - but not moving them to central Europe as you suggest, it's moving the jobs, to China, Malaysia and India.

[Pangurban1]

If, in the event of a Brexit, goods are imported from the Uk to the EU, will there be a need for companies to have a legally registered importer located in the EU.

For pharmaceuticals to be imported into the EU, there has to be a legally registered importer and licence holder located in the EU itself. So in that case why would pharmaceutical companies have a duplicate office in the UK in the event of a Brexit?

How will this work for cars, cosmetics etc?

Using your HSBC example of workers being moved away from the UK, how will Brexit prevent that, and how would the UK on it's own meet the challenge and deal with the impact of globalisation? How would it be better off on it's own rather than working with it's European trading partners?

[Pangurban1]

Also you mention the stable economy is an attraction. How stable will the economy be in the event of a Brexit?

What data, rather than opinion, is available to support the view that there will be a stable economy?

As 40 years of stable trading is disentangled.

[Pangurban1]

Also, how will the border between Ireland (EU) and Ireland work? The Irish prime minister was in London today and said border controls could return.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/29/irish-leader-says-border-controls-may-return-if-brexit-vote-prevails

How will that effect the economy of Northern Ireland with free movement of people and goods going across the border? Ireland is the UK's 5th largest market.

[SpringingIntoAction]

If, in the event of a Brexit, goods are imported from the Uk to the EU, will there be a need for companies to have a legally registered importer located in the EU.

Are you posing a question or have you transposed words? We will manage in the same way as all other countries exporting their goods to the EU currently manage.

For pharmaceuticals to be imported into the EU, there has to be a legally registered importer and licence holder located in the EU itself. So in that case why would pharmaceutical companies have a duplicate office in the UK in the event of a Brexit?

An office can be little more than a post box. There are thousands of these in the Netherlands.

How will this work for cars, cosmetics etc?

You are raising problems that simply don't exist. All companies that trade with the EU do not have to have office in the EU to do so. Many have agents where that is deemed necessary. My cousin is one.

Using your HSBC example of workers being moved away from the UK, how will Brexit prevent that,

Nobody can stop HSBC making a business decision in its best interests. Brexit wouldn't stop it (although outside the EU the UK would have more flexibility to make 'deals' with large corporations) and as we are currently in the REMAIN situation it obviously hasn't stopped it either.

and how would the UK on it's own meet the challenge and deal with the impact of globalisation? How would it be better off on it's own rather than working with it's European trading partners?

I could write pages on this. Globalisation is not a good thing. I love the way our European competitors of old are now our European trading partners. Freed from the constraints of the EU we would be free to trade with global trading partners - not just confining ourselves to the failing economies on our doorstep with the EU.

Also you mention the stable economy is an attraction. How stable will the economy be in the event of a Brexit?

A lot more stable than the Eurozone and EU will be when the Euro finally collapses. I want to be very very far away from that calamity.

What data, rather than opinion, is available to support the view that there will be a stable economy?

I don't think the EU funds economists that take a contrary view to turmoil, plague. conflict and World War 3.

As 40 years of stable trading is disentangled

40 years is nothing. We are a trading nation and have been for centuries - just like the other 168 countries in the world that manage quite nicely without being in the EU.

It's quite funny to hear all this 'trade-only-started-when-we-joined-the-EU' nonsense.

Trade occurs when someone has something that someone else wants.

The EU actually puts up barriers to trade when it favours the select little group of EU member nations and makes trade with the rest of the world more difficult

[Pangurban1]

Maybe a non-eu funded economist? Are you saying there is no data or reliable economists on the side of Brexit? Is there no reliable data to support Brexit?

Are you calling the Bank of England, the UK treasury, the IMF, the OECD and institute for fiscal studies eu funded?

We already have free trade with 27 member states in the EU. Is there no impact in giving up free trade at all. Is there another example of a country similar to the UK that has free trade, under the arrangements the Brexit campaign thinks will apply, with the EU without accepting EU rules?

[Pangurban1]

Only the Conservative party have brought up WW3 and Hitler.

[SpringingIntoAction]

Maybe a non-eu funded economist? Are you saying there is no data or reliable economists on the side of Brexit? Is there no reliable data to support Brexit?

Plenty. However it doesn't support the Govt's narrative to publicise them. There are Prof Minford's, Andrew Lilico and some US studies.

Are you calling the Bank of England, the UK treasury, the IMF, the OECD and institute for fiscal studies eu funded?

You bet I am.
Every one of those either receives EU funding, relies on the patronage of the Government or is employed by the Government. Not one of those can be considered neutral. Many of them had been wildly wrong in their previous predictions. I would have been impressed had Osborne run his figures pst the neutral OBT - he didn't have the courage to do so.

We already have free trade with 27 member states in the EU. Is there no impact in giving up free trade at all. Is there another example of a country similar to the UK that has free trade, under the arrangements the Brexit campaign thinks will apply, with the EU without accepting EU rules?

We actually have free trade with more than just the other 27 EU countries, it also includes the EFTA members and the Turkish customs union. We will not accept the EU rules so if that means tariffs that's fine. Tariffs work both ways. It will be a small price to pay for freeing ourselves from the control of the ECJ and for enabling us to trade freely with the other 168 countries that manage quite nicely without being in the EU.

Some things are priceless. Democracy is one of those things.

[Pangurban1]

A lot of those 168 countries are forming their own free trade bloc arrangements. NAFTA and ASEAN and the African free trade zone for example.

I see Minford is one of the 8 economists supporting Brexit rather than the 600 supporting Remain. These economic arguments seem to be based on working through the WTO, rather than the EU. How will this work in practice as the WTO seems to involve very lengthy negotiations on trade?

What happens in between the UK leaving the EU and then securing new trade agreements? How long is that expected to take and what would UK trade until they can get their trade arrangements onto the WTO negotiations?

"The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Frances O’Grady, said: “Prof Minford is on record calling for the car industry to be ‘run down’. And he’s called for private companies to replace our NHS. He’s no friend to UK manufacturing and the workers whose jobs depend on it, and no friend to families who rely on public services.

“With every major global economic body agreeing on the threat of Brexit to the UK economy, it is hard to take his views seriously.” "

Would professor Minford's recommendation include things above like privatising the NHS and running down the UK manufacturing industry?

Liam Fox uses Bank of England and Treasury data when it suits them. Can these utterances be trusted? If their data cannot be relied upon.

If you're telling me they can't be trusted, do you think the present Government and the Bank of England, Treasury et all should resign? Officials, MP's Cabinet. From leave and Remain obviously, no distinction.

[Mistigri]

If there is a Brexit, and they have to install a new office within the EU, say somewhere like Frankfurt, why would they continue to also maintain a presence in London?

I don't think there is a simple answer to this question pangurban. It will depend largely on the reason why the company had a London office. If it's a non-European company whose choice of location was dictated primarily by the need for an EU-based subsidiary then it's possible that depending on the outcome of negotiations they might need to move. Other companies (especially those which are UK listed) might choose to retain a presence in London while moving some operations to another financial centre within the EU. It will really depend on what markets they serve, and the costs/benefits of moving versus staying.

This is true outside of the City too - there is no prospect that my London-listed employer will relocate its head office, but it is certainly possible that it could move some (though not all) manufacturing operations to the EU in the event of a brexit.