Economic Impacts
The current situation benefits individuals living close to the English south coast who retain an economic advantage by shopping in France. It benefits the entrepreneurs who have businesses around the French ports dependent upon bulk purchases and also other local businesses that benefit from passing trade. The Calais area suffers high unemployment (around 20%) and benefits from the service jobs created by the influx of English day-trippers. The ferry and tunnel operators also benefit from the extra traffic, in a situation that might otherwise be over-supplied.
On the downside, UK taxes (especially on tobacco) seem to have risen beyond the point of diminishing returns, so the British Exchequer loses substantial revenue that might otherwise have been collected to the economies of France and Belgium. Shops (particularly in the English South-East) also report that their trade suffers because taxes make their prices uncompetitive with both legal and illegal imports.
Read more about this topic: Booze Cruise
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