‘Brexit fatigue’ hits Indian, British firms
LONDON:BRITISH and Indian firms based in the UK are suffering from ‘Brexit fatigue’ and lack of clarity about future conditions of business, a major survey released on Friday said, while European regions court them to relocate there.
Since months to go for Brexit, the survey of over 2,500 Uk-based companies by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said many will cut investment, recruitment, and move offices to the EU so that they could continue to operate in the European Single Market.
Pratik Dattani of the Economic Policy Group told HT: “The Brexit referendum framed the question as the status quo versus a hard Brexit. Subsequently, the government has dithered over what a soft, hard or anything-inthe-middle Brexit could be”.
“Both the largest and smallest Indian companies in the UK are finding it difficult to make investment and hiring decisions because of this”. “In the meantime, European regions like Frankfurt, Hamburg and Malta are ramping up their courting of Indian companies particular in London with the simple pitch, that we offer stability and access to the EU market”, he added.
Calling on the Theresa May government to redouble efforts to reach an agreement with the EU to ensure a transition period that could help firms prepare for change and prevent a slump in both investment and recruitment, the BCC said businesses needed clarity and precision for the future. Many SMES are either awaiting more clarity before they act, or are suffering from ‘Brexit fatigue’ and have switched off from the process because they do not believe they will be affected, the BCC said.
Adam Marshall, BCC directorgeneral, said: “Our evidence is clear - failure to reach a political agreement would have realworld consequences, with significant decreases in both investment and recruitment. Larger firms and those active in international trade would suffer the most from a disorderly and sudden exit from the EU, but there will be impacts across the board”.