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The report points out that, as the EU’s two largest trading partners, the US and UK will both be important targets for EU officials wanting to strike favourable trade deals. However, following intense Brexit negotiations, almost half (47 per cent) of EU businesses want to see the EU prioritise trade within the single market. RSM says this underlines the importance of agreeing a free trade area before the Brexit deadline passes.
The researchers also found that eight per cent of European businesses have cut ties with British suppliers as a direct result of the UK’s impending exit from the EU, and 20 per cent of EU and UK businesses have spent more than £10,000 responding to trade restrictive hurdles over the past 12 months – 16 per cent said they had spent more than £50,000
Conducted by the European Business Awards, Europe’s largest cross-sector business competition, the survey of more than 500 senior European business decision-makers shows that businesses on both sides of the channel are feeling the financial costs of trade disruption.
“We are at a watershed moment in international trade; regulatory barriers and trade policy must be addressed so businesses can collaborate and compete globally," said Gregor Schmidt, European regional leader at RSM International.