SCOTTISH Chambers of Commerce has hammered home its view that there is a relatively greater economic need for migrant workers north of the Border.
And it has underlined businesses’ concerns over the impact of Brexit on employees from other European Union countries.
Garry Clark, head of Scottish Chambers’ economic development intelligence unit, cited “anecdotal stories” about people from other EU member states already returning to their home countries.
Mr Clark said: “The position of EU workers is very much at the forefront of many businesses’ thoughts.”
He highlighted Scottish Chambers’ expectation that there will be “some sort of limitation on migration in the future” in a UK context because of Brexit.
Mr Clark added: “If that is the case, we need to set those targets based on economic need. Economic need should be reflected across sectors and it should be reflected across the geographies of the UK. While we have lower population growth in Scotland, we have increased need in terms of labour coming into the country to maintain our growth potential.”
He also declared businesses were telling Scottish Chambers the euro area “remains a very key market”.
Emphasising the importance of "as much tariff-free and barrier-free access as possible" to European markets in any Brexit deal, Mr Clark said: “It is still the best place to get quick results in terms of international trade.”
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