A new guide aims to help businesses understand the UK’s trade prospects in a post-Brexit world.
Produced by Clifford Chance and the CBI, The Future of Trade for the UK – a Guide for Businesses (available here) claims to provide firms with tools they can use to analyse the impact of Brexit.
The guide assesses a number of scenarios for the UK leaving the EU and their potential impact on businesses, including negotiations on a long-term UK-EU agreement, World Trade Organization (WTO) and third country free trade agreements (FTAs), and interim arrangements.
Around 85% of the UK’s trade is either with EU Member States or with countries which benefit from preferential trade arrangements with the EU, the report highlights.
With many companies likely to be facing unfamiliar and complex trade rules after Brexit, the guide offers advice to help them identify and prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
One of the main issues identified is the impact of Brexit on supply chains.
Jessica Gladstone of Clifford Chance warned that the changes to come will not just affect big UK businesses that export to the EU or through the EU’s current trade links.
For example, she explained, any UK or EU-27 manufacturer that is part of a complex EU supply chain could be at risk because of the way FTAs work.
There are two important steps that firms can take to address such challenges, Ms Gladstone has suggested. The first is to understand the issues and how they could affect a particular business and sector; the second is to lobby the Government, to ensure that it understands what businesses need from the forthcoming negotiations.
In the words of the report: “Business and Government must communicate effectively and work together to ensure the UK’s future trading arrangements promote business, jobs and growth.”
