German industry warns of the enormous negative consequences that would result from the failure of negotiations on an agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom once the transitional period planned to regulate Brexit expires.
“Without clear guidelines for the movement of goods, Brexit will be an economic disaster for companies,” said Joachim Lang, executive director of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), an entity that released a document with 42 demands for the deal.
Lang urged negotiators on both sides of the English Channel to take advantage of the remaining time until the end of the year to find a free trade agreement as broad as possible, and believed that it would have to be more profound than the traditional free trade agreements that the European Union has with other countries.
It is important to the German business leader to reduce the now high trade barriers to the lowest possible level with simple and harmonized rules of origin.
According to him, a simple regulation would greatly facilitate trade, especially for small and medium-sized companies, in addition to considerably reducing bureaucratic obstacles.
The BDI document on the movement of goods is addressed to the negotiating parties. It claims that one of the objectives of the agreement is to simplify customs procedures as much as possible. There is also a requirement not to introduce new customs duties and create a level playing field.
Regarding subsidies, the BDI believes that clear and restrictive rules should be established, as well as a mechanism for the settlement of trade disputes.
K. Tovar
Source: dpa
