“Ministers in London have yet to show us any evidence of the benefits of leaving the single market and the customs union or how new trade deals would replace the benefits of access to the EU. The Welsh first minister , Carwyn Jones , has said the Welsh steel industry would be " wiped out " if the UK leaves the EU single market and signs a free trade agreement with China . Jones issued the warning as the Welsh government released a paper , backed by the Cardiff Business School , that said a so - called hard Brexit would shrink the Welsh economy by between 8 % and 10 % . Theresa May has recently announced an " ambitious " post - Brexit trade deal with China ; however , Jones warned : " A free trade deal with China that allows free flow of steel would kill off our steel industry . "
The Welsh first minister , Carwyn Jones , has said the Welsh steel industry would be " wiped out " if the UK leaves the EU single market and signs a free trade agreement with China . Jones issued the warning as the Welsh government released a paper , backed by the Cardiff Business School , that said a so - called hard Brexit would shrink the Welsh economy by between 8 % and 10 % . Theresa May has recently announced an " ambitious " post - Brexit trade deal with China ; however , Jones warned : " A free trade deal with China that allows free flow of steel would kill off our steel industry . "