Chamber welcomes trade deal with EU
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, has welcomed news of agreement on a trade deal between the EU and the UK – but warns there are still major hurdles to be overcome in coming months.
She said: “After one of the most difficult years on record for business, the fact a deal has been agreed and is now within touching distance is very welcome news indeed.
“Business wants tariff-free, quota-free access to EU markets and that appears to have been achieved by negotiators, and it is what our members have been calling for since the vote was taken to leave the union.
“But, of course, tariff-free does not mean hassle-free, and exporters have been preparing for a new level of bureaucracy which means there will be a few bumpy months as systems settle down. We have seen over recent days of what can happen if freight does not move smoothly through borders.
“Clearly, we need to see the detail, and we need politicians, who now have a vital role to play in ratifying a deal, to think about the national good and not party politics.
“It really has gone down to the wire, as many predicted, and that does create issues and pressures and should have been avoided, but overall this is a very good end to an extremely testing year for business and means we go in the New Year with a sense of optimism.”
