A "no deal" scenario is getting closer. According to a statement from the VDMA, a large majority of machinery and plant manufacturers are also expecting a hard Brexit. The majority of companies no longer believe in a negotiated solution and are preparing for a "no deal" scenario. This was the result of a sentiment survey of 63 VDMA member companies, in which almost 80% of respondents stated that they no longer expect an agreement between the EU and the UK. 70% of the VDMA members surveyed also consider their British business partners to be ill-prepared.

"Brexit agreement must not fail due to fishing quotas!"

"It is madness that in the midst of the biggest economic crisis since the Second World War, the EU and the UK are heading for a hard Brexit and thus further burdening the economic situation of companies," says VDMA Managing Director Thilo Brodtmann. Above all, the fact that the negotiations are threatening to fail due to a lack of agreement on fishing quotas is met with incomprehension in the mechanical and plant engineering sector. "It is absurd that successful and export-oriented industries such as mechanical engineering may suffer as a result of disputes in a sector that is relatively insignificant in economic terms. It is in the interests of society that politicians now do everything they can to stabilize the industrial pillars of the European economy," demands Brodtmann. He therefore views last week's EU summit, at which no decisive progress was made in the Brexit negotiations, as a disappointment.

VDMA against special regulations

The second major point of contention in the negotiations is the creation of a level playing field on both sides of the Channel. Brodtmann: "Under no circumstances must we allow the EU internal market to be undermined by special regulations. This means that the British can only gain access to the single market if they adhere to essential competition rules. Free access to the single market for potentially highly subsidized companies from the UK would be unfair and would jeopardize the functioning of the EU."

The VDMA has created a special website to prepare its member companies for Brexit in the best possible way. In addition to answers to legal, tax and other practical Brexit questions, the association also offers checklists and fact sheets. Members can find out about work assignments in the UK, for example, via various web seminars and expert discussions.

You can access the VDMA's Brexit topic website here.