Trade deal warning by German business

GERMAN BUSINESS leaders have cast doubt on ministers’ claims that the country’s manufacturers will help secure a Brexit trade deal, instead warning Theresa May it will be “extraordinarily difficult” to protect UK industry.

Ministers have frequently claimed that German car-makers, along with other key European industries such as French farmers and wine-makers, would lobby their governments to agree a comprehensive deal which maintains tariff-free trade between the UK and the other 27 EU member states.

But the leaders of two of Germany’s main business organisations said the priority for them was maintaining the integrity of the single market for the 27 remaining members of the European Union.

Dieter Kempf, president of the BDI, the federation of German industries, told the Observer: “Defending the single market, a key European project, must be the priority for the European Union. Europe must maintain the integrity of the single market and its four freedoms: goods, capital, services, and labour.

“It is the responsibility of the British Government to limit the damage on both sides of the Channel. Over the coming months, it will be extraordinarily difficult to avert negative effects on British businesses in particular.”

Ingo Kramer, president of the confederation of German employers’ associations, said: “The single market is one of the major assets of the EU. Access to the single market requires the acceptance of all four single market freedoms. The UK will remain a very important partner for us, but we need a fair deal for both sides. The cohesion of the remaining 27 EU member states has highest priority.”