A week after the vote, Tennessee officials are doing the math about the pending breakup between the European Union and the United Kingdom, a country that represents a surprisingly important trading partner for the state.
Polls in Great Britain had predicted voters would decide narrowly to stay in the EU.
So it was a shock to everyone that Britain voted to leave, says Gov. Bill Haslam.
“I was in Ireland last week when all that happened,” Haslam said, referring to an economic recruitment trip. “And I think a lot of people that I talked to were surprised. I had a chance to meet with a lot of members of their Parliament. None of them saw that coming.”
The aftermath will take months to sort out. The United Kingdom isn’t expected to start withdrawing from the European Union until at least September, and the process could take up to two years to complete.
But Haslam says
Brexit is certain to ripple through the Tennessee economy.
Last year, the state exported nearly $1 billion in goods to the United Kingdom. More than a quarter of that was aerospace products, followed by beverages.
And the United Kingdom is also the state’s fourth-biggest source of foreign investment, behind only Japan, Germany and Canada. British firms have put more than $1.4 billion into Tennessee. Those firms employ about 10,000 people here.
Tennessee also imports nearly $1.4 billion in goods each year, more than a third of that pharmaceuticals and medicines.
Brexit also comes as the United States has been trying to deepen its relationship with Europe through
a new trade agreement.
If Britain goes it alone, Haslam says it may mean having to work out a separate pact with Britain to keep trade flowing.
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