German chemical giant faces losing MILLIONS from Brexit: Firm demands answers
GERMAN chemical giant BASF could lose up to £53 million in extra costs each year because of Brexit, according to the company’s UK chief.
Custom duties, tariffs, changes and delays in the supply chain will incur the shocking extra costs, according to Richard Carter.
He told German newspaper Handelsblatt: “We expect already through possible customs duties and tariffs, changes in duties and delays in the supply chain, to incur additional costs of between 40 to 60 million euros per year.
“We stand ready to make changes if we know which ones are necessary.
The lack of certainty is restricting us in what we can do now in practical terms
But the uncertainty regarding Brexit negotiations are a problem for the company, according to Mr Carter.
He said: “We would want the UK government to be clearly positioned, clear about what it wants and what it will do if it does not reach that goal.
“The lack of certainty is restricting us in what we can do now in practical terms.”
Britain aims to negotiate a Brexit trade deal with the European Union which maintains high levels of access to the bloc’s single market.
But Brexit negotiations between the government in London and the remaining 27 EU states, in preparation for Britain’s exit from the EU in March 2019, have been stagnating so far.
Talks on future trade relations are due to start in spring. It is already clear that, after a transitional phase, the Kingdom will leave the single market and the Customs Union.
BASF, which “creates chemistry for a sustainable future,” plans to present its 2017 balance sheet next week, with analysts expecting an average of 64.1 billion euros and a net profit of 5.8 billion.
Germany is also set to lose out on billions of euros of funding in a move by the European Commission which could see the Structural Funds slashed.
The Structural Funds which include the European Regional Development Fund (Efre) and the European Social Fund, provide subsidies for skills such as agriculture and fisheries.
The nation has received nearly £24.7billion (€28billion) in funding from the Structural and Investment Funds throughout the 2014-2020 funding period, according to a report commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economics.
(Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg.)