Brexit: Only every eighth British exporter benefits from the EU trade pact

Enlarge image

Port of Dover: Higher costs, more bureaucracy, delays

Photo: GLYN KIRK / AFP

At the end of 2020, the EU and Great Britain only managed to negotiate a new trade pact just before Brexit.

But the vast majority of British exporters do not seem to benefit from this.

In a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce association, only twelve percent of exporting companies stated that the trade pact would help them to increase their business.

This was not the case for 71 percent.

The majority of the more than 1,100 entrepreneurs surveyed said higher costs, more bureaucracy and delays had made the UK less competitive.

The parliamentary committee responsible for monitoring public spending in London recently came to an almost identical verdict on the only identifiable effects of Brexit.

"Almost all companies in this survey have fewer than 250 employees, and these smaller companies are feeling the new hurdles from the trade deal the most," said association chief William Bain.

The companies have neither the time nor the money nor sufficient staff to meet the additional expense.

The association therefore called on the British government to engage in further talks with the EU for simplified controls and relaxed rules, especially in the food sector.

In addition, British companies need more support to cope with the new challenges.

Although the trade pact allows goods to move largely duty-free, trade between the EU and the UK has nevertheless become significantly more complicated and has therefore declined.

According to surveys, more than 60 percent of Britons now rate the consequences of Brexit as negative.

fdi/dpa