by Xinhua writers Gu Zhenqiu, Tian Dongdong
LONDON, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- After rounds of painful and intense negotiations, Britain and the European Union (EU) finally secured a post-Brexit trade deal on Thursday, paving the way for avoiding a possible nightmare of chaotic economic break on Jan. 1, 2021.
With only seven days left before the end of the Brexit transition period, the trade deal is a great relief for people on both sides of the English Channel who do not want to see a disorderly Brexit.
Indeed, a late deal is better than no deal. The last-gasp deal, which put an end to nine-month hard talks, is really a result of the UK-EU efforts to cover extra miles to iron out their major differences through diplomatic negotiations.
Failure to reach a free trade agreement means bilateral trade will fall back on World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in 2021.
The British and EU negotiators both have been determined to seek an agreement even with the two sides diverging greatly on fair competition, governance and fisheries. As time elapsed, fishing rights remained the last major sticking point between them.
As Brexit is an unprecedented move in the EU history, it remains unknown whether the deal can provide answers to a question unobserved in the modern history of humankind.
On the one hand, the new deal brings essential certainties to a world which is experiencing profound changes unseen in a century. However, on the other hand, the deal is far from enough to clean all the aftermath of Brexit once and for all, thus leaving relevant parties -- and even the world at large -- more question marks about the near future.
The deal, which runs for some 2,000 pages, will be hugely welcomed by businesses who had feared a chaotic no-deal outcome.
The hard-won trade deal, which came more than 1,640 days after the 2016 referendum vote in Britain to leave the EU, would help avoid the imposition of tariffs and duties that would cost Britain and the EU billions of dollars in trade and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
In other words, the deal offers much needed reassurance to large and small-sized businesses in the country, as it will help them escape from the 10-percent tariffs for cars and more than 35 percent for dairy products, which could be "deeply damaging for both businesses and consumers."
Thanks to the deal, the 27-member regional bloc has successfully demonstrated to the world its strong will to defend unity and collective interests, as well as its wisdom in settling a "century divorce."
For the rest of the world, the new deal has saved the world economy from another Black Swan event -- a no-deal scenario with a severe impact and possible damage to global stability and development.
The above-mentioned benefits are more than enough to make the deal a historic one, but are insufficient to end the Brexit aftermath conclusively.
For one thing, the deal cannot heal the division between Remain and Leave campaigns inside Britain. For some Brexiters, Britain has made too many unnecessary or even unjustified compromises in the imperfect deal. Like a powder keg, the mood of unsatisfaction would probably be exploited by some Brexit politicians to interrupt the implementation of the deal in the future.
In addition, as some British analysts fear, the "successful" divorce may somehow encourage the Leave campaign in Scotland in the near future. Besides, bidding farewell to the EU does not automatically establish a "Global Britain." Both chances and challenges lie ahead on London's journey to be "global."
Furthermore, on the EU's side, divorcing with a major member does mean a setback for European integration. It also requires the EU to re-chart its global and interior development strategies, which is a long, difficult and somehow unpredictable process.
For the world as a whole, which is suffering from the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges brought by the deal are not easy to be predicted. The only way out is to work together and defend multilateralism.
The deal has not been easy to come by, and its implementation may be even harder. A smooth implementation is conducive to the prosperity and stability of the world.
Like it or not, Brexit is now a reality. To carry out the deal, both Britain and the EU need to follow through with hardened resolve and improved efficiency as more hard nuts have to be cracked in the near future. Otherwise, Brexit would go down in history as the dawn of a more divisive, chaotic era for both. Enditem