CBI consults BHETA on Brexit
BHETA has been approached by the CBI to provide a summary of BHETA members’ considerations post-BREXIT.
This is as as part of its plan to engage with all its stakeholders, including trade associations, to ascertain the key opportunities, concerns and questions that matter most as negotiations draw nearer.
As a response stimulus, BHETA issued a series of ten subject headings to its membership in order to capture all feedback. The key considerations on which BHETA sought response were:
1. Currency fluctuations and the de-valuing of the pound
2. Status of existing and future EU employees – a number of BHETA members have European employees in their businesses
3. Access to skills if business uses a high proportion of migrant workers
4. Imposition of immediate penalising tariffs
5. Increased border controls – Impact on freight, deliveries to customers
6. New compliance required on goods exported to the EU
7. Interpretation and treatment of existing EU regulations post BREXIT
8. Level of red tape and regulation currently encumbering small businesses
9. Will leaving the EU and the constraints of the single European market open up additional advantageous export opportunities in the future?
10. As the UK has benefitted significantly from positive immigration, should it still be welcomed but with sensible controls?
Member response has been considerable and a summary of the key findings is being fed to the CBI as part of its master report due out soon. .
Commenting on the research project, Will Jones, BHETA Executive Director for Housewares said, “Following the referendum vote, BHETA has taken the advice and soundings from a number of different industry bodies in an attempt to establish and impart relevant information to our members. As a result of a number of meetings and presentations, most notably at our recent Bunnings and John Lewis Forums, the one stand out organisation that would appear to have the ‘ear’ of government and a vision of UK Business post-Brexit, is the CBI. So, we are delighted to contribute our findings to its overall data in order to influence the most positive outcome for British business and our members’ interests in particular.”
For more information about BHETA and its networking and retail engagement events, contact wj@bheta.co.uk, pg@bheta.co.uk or nab@bheta.co.uk or contact the Member Services team on 0121 237 1130.
Source: BHETA
February 2017