The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has posed 24 “real-world questions” to government over Brexit issues that businesses urgently need answering.

Clarifying businesses Brexit concerns

Among the questions are whether or not businesses will be able to transfer staff between the EU and the UK using the same processes as currently and whether companies will be able to participate in European R&D projects after 2020.The BCC is warning that “time is of the essence, with many firms making contingency plans or considering investment alternatives” outside the UK.According to the BCC report, the government has so far addressed far too few of the issues of crucial to business with the result that there has already been a “significant” slowdown in investment.

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For more related news and features, visit our Brexit section.  

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Businesses patience at ‘breaking point’

Adam Marshall, director-general of the organisation, said, “Over the past two years, businesses have been patient. We have supported the government’s drive to seek the best possible deal for the UK economy.“We have given time, expertise and real-world experience to support hard-pressed civil service negotiators. We have convened all across the UK to ensure that every business community’s Brexit concerns can be heard by elected representatives and officials.“Now, with the time running out ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU, business patience is reaching breaking point.“Businesses have every right to speak out when it is abundantly clear that the practical questions affecting the competitiveness of their firms and the livelihoods of millions of people remain unanswered. With less than nine months go to until Brexit day, we are little closer to the answers businesses need than we were the day after the referendum.“It’s time for politicians to stop the squabbling and the Westminster point-scoring – and start putting the national economic interest first. These are not ‘siren voices’ or special interests. They are the practical, real-world concerns of businesses of every size and sector, in every part of the UK.”The BCC report said that the government and EU had so far made progress on only two of the 24 issues of pressing importance to business, “some assurances” on the status of EU nationals in the UK workforce and on the industrial standards regime.However, it says that on other important matters, companies are still awaiting answers. They include:

• Whether businesses will need to pay VAT on goods at point of import, and whether services firms need to be registered in every EU27 members state where it has clients
• What Rules of Origin firms will have to comply with to receive preferential tariff rates
• Whether goods will be subject to new procedures and will face delays at border checkpoints
• Whether checks on goods conducted in the UK will be recognised by the EU

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