EU lawmakers approve trade agreement
The European Parliament has given its final approval to the post-Brexit trade deal between Britain and the EU.
EU lawmakers yesterday cleared the trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) by 660 votes to five, with 32 abstentions.
The agreement, which governs trade and customs issues and provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas, has been applied conditionally since the beginning of the year.
But a negative vote by the European Parliament would have produced a 'no-deal ' Brexit scenario.
Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce said that while the clarity over the TCA is welcome, many businesses who have already been impacted by Brexit will be unmoved by the development.
Raj Kandola (pictured), head of policy at the GBCC, said: “The formal signing of the TCA is in many ways a welcome development but businesses that have spent months dealing with the real world ramifications of Brexit are likely to be unmoved by this news.
“As our latest report on Brexit highlighted, a number of firms in the region have suffered from issues related to double duty, supply chain disruption and increased administrative costs - clearly, there 's much work left to do to smooth this process and fix these pressing issues.
“As always, the GBCC is on hand to help businesses adapt to these changes and we are currently running a number of training courses focussing on customs support and advice - full details can be found on the website.
“We 're also hosting a series of free webinars covering various aspects of trading with our European Partners, the latest one is taking place next week and will focus on cultivating links with Germany - I would urge businesses to come along and find out more about how we can strengthen these longstanding ties moving forward. ”
Hannah Essex, co-executive director of the BCC, said that more needs to be done on both sides to prevent significant disruption for business.
She said: “While there may be relief that the ratification of the TCA has gone smoothly, the reality is that the changes within the agreement have been operational now for almost four months.
“It is now vital that both the UK and EU work together to alleviate the significant disruption and difficulty which many firms continue to report, especially with further changes still to come.
“The British Chambers of Commerce 's Trade Confidence Outlook?for Q1, released earlier this month, revealed?the?stark issues facing?UK?exporters in the first months of this year.
“The survey?of?almost 3,000 UK?exporters?revealed that 41 per cent of respondents reported a decrease in export sales, while only 20 per cent reported an increase. This follows a major BCC survey in January which found that 49 per cent of exporters reported difficulties adapting to changes to trade in goods rules. Only 16 per cent reported any ease in adapting to changes.
“Without further support for businesses the effects of the deal?will weigh on UK economic prospects for some time to come.?
? “The UK and the EU must now get back around the table?and continue talks so they can build upon the?arrangements set out in?the TCA to deliver long-term improvements to the flow of trade between them. ”??
To access the GBCC 's latest Brexit report and to find out more about the training courses on offer click here.
To book a free place on our Trading with Germany event click here.