22/06/2026

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | JUNE 22, 2026

17

A decade on, Brexit still bites for UK small businesses

LONDON: Ten years on from a referendum that triggered Britain’s exit from the European Union, the nation’s small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) find themselves caught between mountains of paperwork, rising costs and dashed expectations. A study published last month by the Federation of Small Businesses found 63 percent of UK SMEs trading with the European Union had faced “significant” trade barriers over the past 12 months. A third of those surveyed plan to reduce or stop trading with the bloc under the current legal framework. Four business leaders spoke to AFP about their experiences. “It’s still impacting us,” Rowan Crozier, head of Brandauer, which manufacturers tiny metal components, said of Brexit. “I did everything I could to try and persuade my staff that, for business reasons, it’s the wrong thing to do,” he added. “If you look at the facts and figures, our lead times for all of our materials went up post Brexit.” Britain formally departed the EU at the start of the decade. Before exiting, said Crozier, “we could expect a shipment to come from the UK to the EU or the other way around, and it would be 24, 48 hours. No problem. “And now it’s at least a week.” The company, based in Birmingham in central England, is one of a handful in the world working with metals around 0.05 millimetres thick. “Our specialism, actually, has helped us to overcome some of the challenges that Brexit threw at us,” Crozier added. “I love Europe. The issue was with Brussels,” said Simon Boyd, head of Reidsteel, which builds steel structures such as warehouses, bridges, pylons and football stadiums. “One of the big problems in Europe and with us ... is all the nonsense over carbon trading and carbon emissions.” Boyd, a staunch Brexit supporter, was disappointed Britain had not gone further in loosening regulations inherited from the EU. “The race to net zero here in the UK is suicidal.” “Rather than reducing carbon into the atmosphere, we are increasing it by buying steel from countries outside the EU ... where the emissions are much higher.” “Leaving the European Union hasn’t done us any harm, but it hasn’t given us the benefits that we were hoping to get.” “Any business wants to actually find itself in the best possible

I’ve got people doing more paperwork and all paperwork is a cost to the business,” said McKenna. “It’s made plants more expensive by importing. So it’s made our product more expensive and more difficult for people to buy.” “What I hope for, is what it was pre-vote: frictionless transport, working together with our European partners, taking down the borders, taking down the restrictions, working together instead of working against each other.” – AFP

our European-wide business, but our business in the UK has basically remained static.” “Northern Ireland is a benefactor of Brexit ... but my preference would have been if the UK in total would have stayed within the European community.” “There’s been no winners over the last 10 years,” said Richard McKenna, managing director of plant supplier Provender Nurseries in southeast England. “The economy has suffered, the people have suffered. There’s no winner,” he added. “It’s made life more challenging.

o SMEs find themselves caught between mountains of paperwork, rising costs and dashed expectations

remained part of the European single market for physical goods to ensure it maintains an open border with EU member Ireland. “The business has a foot in both camps,” spanning the UK and EU markets, he said. “In the period since 2016 to now, we’ve seen a substantial growth in

market with the best possible opportunity,” said Declan Gormley, head of ventilation systems manufacturer Brookvent. “The European Union to me offered that pre-Brexit and it offers it post-Brexit.” His company is headquartered in Northern Ireland, which has

An aerial picture shows freight shipping containers stacked on the dock ahead of loading, at the container terminal of Southampton Docks in Southampton on the south coast of England. – AFPPIC

US opens trade probe against Germany over pharma pricing WASHINGTON: The United States has started an investigation over “unfair” pharmaceutical pricing policies in Germany, a move that could lead to fresh tariffs. The probe announced by the US Trade Representative’s office will determine if Germany’s “persistent underpayment for innovative pharmaceutical products” is disproportionate share of global R&D costs for innovative pharmaceuticals,“ the notice said. confirmed ongoing talks with Washington on the issue.

“In an already tense trade policy environment, companies need reliability and planning certainty – not a new source of disruption,“ the group said in a statement to AFP. Trump has rolled out sweeping tariffs since returning to the White House last year, though the US Supreme Court struck down many of them in February. His administration has since turned to trade probes as officials look to reimpose more lasting duties. This month, the USTR’s office proposed new tariffs of up to 12.5 per cent on dozens of countries under its investigation into forced labor concerns. – AFP

“I assume the United States will honour the agreement we have in place. Reimbursements for modern, innovative medicines by our health insurance funds is a decision which falls within our national jurisdiction,“ German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Brussels. Health Minister Nina Warken said earlier this week it would be tough for Germany to pay higher prices. “We have a tense financial situation in our health insurance system,“ she said. Germany’s VCI pharmaceutical industry federation said it took the US move “very seriously.”

“President Trump has made clear that American patients should not be shouldering a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical research and development,“ US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement. He cited Germany’s plans to fast track legislation “that would further reduce its spending on innovative pharmaceuticals.” The US trade envoy’s office will next receive comments and hold a hearing in September as part of the investigation. Germany’s Health Ministry

“unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts US commerce”. The move – launched under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act – came after the USTR pointed to evidence Germany has “unfair pricing” policies and practices. Reduced revenue associated with such practices also appeared to contribute to reduced investment for research and development, among other issues, it added. “As a result, the United States pays a

US President Donald Trump’s administration has launched similar probes into dozens of trading partners over issues including forced labor and industrial overcapacity, leading to proposals of higher levies in some cases. The US move comes after the German government sought to overhaul its statutory health insurance system, including through lowering the prices public insurers pay for medicines, in a bid to rein in public spending.