British sea exports and others could be hindered if the country decides to leave the EU without first establishing another Free Trade Agreement, with a new report suggesting that Brexit without this in place could result in export losses totalling £30 billion by 2019.
Euler Hermes’ latest Brexit Me If You Can economic insight report suggest that if the UK does exit Europe even with an FTA arranged, turnover growth for businesses would still be halved. If the UK remains within the EU, exports would continue to grow by up to £26 billion by 2019.
It was found that 60 per cent of the loss in goods exports in the UK would come from Germany, the Netherlands, France and Ireland, affecting sectors such as textiles, automotive, machinery equipment, chemicals, agriculture and energy.
Ana Boata, European economist with the global trade credit insurer, said: “A collapse in exports, higher import bills and financing costs and a rush of divestment could cause a perfect storm for the UK economy in the event of Brexit. While some of the risk could be mitigated if a Free Trade Agreement were to be agreed during exit negotiations, our forecasts paint a dismal picture for British businesses in a world outside of the EU.”
Just this week (December 9th), David Cameron came out and said that the current migrant crisis, with people flooding into Europe, could well see Britons voting in favour of an EU exit for Britain. Businesses would certainly do well to keep an eye on the situation before making any decisions.