The Impact of Brexit on German Businesses

In the estimation of German companies, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union will represent a significant drag on the trade of goods and services. The business outlook of companies which are engaged in trade with the United Kingdom is worsening significantly, as expected cost burdens due to taxes and tariffs and increasing bureaucratic hurdles at Europe's new borders will negatively affect business on both sides. The magnitude of this effect largely depends on negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU. Regardless of the specific outcome of these negotiations, almost one in every ten companies is already planning to shift investments away from the UK because of Brexit and towards Germany or other countries within the EU internal market.

DIHK's nationwide survey "Going International 2017" was conducted with the assistance of 79 chambers of commerce and industry. A total of 2,200 companies based in Germany with foreign operations took part in an online survey in February 2017. The results of this analysis of the impact of Brexit are based on about 1,300 responses from companies which do business in the United Kingdom. This represents 59 percent of the companies surveyed.