Prepare for very hard Brexit, says German industry group

AFP, FRANKFURT AM MAIN: The head of Germany’s powerful BDI industry federation warned companies yesterday to prepare for a “very hard Brexit”, pointing to persistent infighting in London over what Britain wants from EU exit talks. “German firms must prepare for the worst-case scenario of a very hard exit, anything else would be naive,” BDI chief Joachim Lang said in a statement. Britain’s governing Conservative party is “at odds” with itself on Brexit strategy, leaving the outcome “completely open” in London-Brussels talks set to end in March 2019, the statement said.

“Whatever kind of Brexit there is, it will bring a significant number of legal, economic and business problems with it,” Lang said. The industry federation is making its own preparations, with a taskforce split into 10 teams hoping to head off  “potential and acute dangers” for future trade between the two countries, he said.

Germany exported 116 billion euros ($136.2 billion) of goods and services to Britain in 2016, and imported some 60 billion euros from there, according to figures published by the country’s central bank, the Bundesbank. And German companies are well-represented in Britain, employing around 400,000 people in the island nation.

Carmakers and other industries have warned that new barriers to trade— from customs levies to regulatory differences—could disrupt EU-spanning supply chains that see goods and components cross national borders multiple times before reaching buyers.

Prepare for very hard Brexit, says German industry group

AFP, FRANKFURT AM MAIN: The head of Germanys powerful BDI industry federation warned companies yesterday to prepare for a very hard Brexit, pointing to persistent infighting in London over what Britain wants from EU exit talks. German firms must prepare for the worst-case scenario of a very hard exit, anything else would be naive, BDI chief Joachim Lang said in a statement. Britains governing Conservative party is at odds with itself on Brexit strategy, leaving the outcome completely open in London-Brussels talks set to end in March 2019, the statement said. Whatever kind of Brexit there is, it will bring a significant number of legal, economic and business problems with it, Lang said. The industry federation is making its own preparations, with a taskforce split into 10 teams hoping to head off potential and acute dangers for future trade between the two countries, he said. Germany exported 116 billion euros ($136.2 billion) of goods and services to Britain in 2016, and imported some 60 billion euros from there, according to figures published by the countrys central bank, the Bundesbank. And German companies are well-represented in Britain, employing around 400,000 people in the island nation. Carmakers and other industries have warned that new barriers to trade from customs levies to regulatory differencescould disrupt EU-spanning supply chains that see goods and components cross national borders multiple times before reaching buyers.