Brexit could hit Hub export industry hard, expert says

The United Kingdom will continue to be an important trade and investment partner for Massachusetts after it leaves the European Union, particularly as the prospect looms for a new bilateral trade deal between the United States and Great Britain, experts say.

The U.K. was Massachusetts’ sixth largest market last year for exports, which totalled almost $1.6 billion in manufactured goods.

“The U.K. will continue to be a very important market for Massachusetts from a pure proximity and ease of access standpoint,” said Paula Murphy of the Massachusetts Export Center. “It’s a close market, and we have good connections to get our cargo there. We also have very complementary industry strengths. The U.K. lends itself well to the kinds of things we make in Massachusetts.”

But if the pound continues to fall under Brexit, that could make things challenging for U.S. companies.

“Anytime you have factors that might influence depreciation of a currency versus the dollar, that means it’s going to be more difficult for customers from the U.K. to purchase goods from the U.S., because they’re more expensive,” Murphy said.

There also may be challenges for Bay State companies that have set up European distribution centers in the United Kingdom as a base to access the European market duty-free. “Those are the kind of structures that some companies are probably rethinking now,” Murphy said.

Kirsten Chambers-Taylor, head of trade and investment for the British ConsulateGeneral Boston, said, “Britain has the unique chance to untangle itself from burdensome EU regulations and set more business-friendly standards to encourage healthy competition. And we are very excited by the prospect of securing a bilateral trade deal between the U.S. and U.K. that works for our shared economic interests.”