A video of Lord Digby Jones promising uninterrupted trade with Germany has been making the rounds on social media after the UK was knocked out of its top 10 trading partners for the first time in over half a century.
According to a recent Reuters report Brexit-related trade barriers have resulted in firms in Europe’s largest economy looking for business elsewhere, with German imports to the UK sinking nearly 11 per cent year-on-year to 16.1 billion euros ($19.0 billion).
Michael Schmidt, president of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany, said an increasing amount of small and medium-sized companies are ceasing to trade (in Britain) because of the hurdles.
“Many small companies simply can’t afford the extra burden of keeping up to date and complying with all the kicked-in customs rules such as health certificates for cheese and other fresh products,” he said, adding that losing access to one of the most important export markets was like “shooting yourself in the foot.”
It is a far sight from the promises made by Leave advocates before the UK’s split with the EU.
Lord Digby Jones said: “In the morning after any referendum result to come out Germany, and it’s pivotal on Germany, would immediately want some form of tariff-free arrangement with Britain.”
“The moment Germany does it the others will follow and we would enjoy that as well.”
Watch the clip in full below:
Britain relegated from Germany’s top 10 trading countries. What Lord Digby Jones claimed before the Brexit vote… pic.twitter.com/FcXLtIM74W
— Phantom Power (@PhantomPower14) September 9, 2021
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