STUART PATRICK
If there is one certainty emerging from the General Election, it is surely that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union early next year.
British business has frequently blamed the uncertainty of the Brexit process for the currently low rate of business investment. Finally leaving the EU is of course just one step in resolving that uncertainty.
We must now await the negotiations to settle the new trading relationship we will have with our nearest neighbours. Businesses will naturally be hoping for the lowest possible barriers, but we have seriously conflicting views about how long we will have to wait to know the outcome.
Either it will indeed be completed by the end of next year as the Johnson Government suggests, or it will be a much more drawn-out process.
Many businesses do not have the luxury of waiting to find out, and they will now make decisions on the assumption that Brexit is a certainty. Glasgow Chamber of Commerce will certainly be doing the same.
To that end we will be redoubling our work both to prepare for more hostile trading conditions with Europe and to invest in building our relationships in overseas markets.
We have increased staffing in our international documentation centre as we expect there to be more logistical hurdles to overcome in getting goods both in and out of the European Union.
We are also planning a more intense series of international trade visits. Just last month we took a member delegation to China, focused on Shanghai and the capital of Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, where the massive online company Alibaba is headquartered.
Last year UK exports to China totalled around £23billion and with such as Weir Group, Edrington and Peak Scientific, we saw strong evidence that Glasgow companies are making healthy progress. However we can do much better, with for example Germany exporting four times as much there and opening a giant base for its businesses in Shanghai.
We were met with a warm welcome from the local British Chamber of Commerce and from Chinese companies like Alibaba and travel service provider Ctrip, owner of Skyscanner. We plan our next delegation to China in 2020.
Across the world we have a growing network of overseas British Chambers of Commerce and the hugely experienced team in Scottish Development International to draw upon. China will certainly not be the only overseas market that we will target.
Stuart Patrick is chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.
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