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07.10.2021
Brexit – on the way to the economic sideline
Numerous media around the world are currently reporting how Britain is maneuvering itself further and further to the economic sideline as a result of Brexit. The importance that Great Britain has as a supplier country for Germany is often used as an example. It was worth a number of headlines when the Federal Statistical Office reported that Great Britain had dropped out of the “Top Ten” of Germany's most important supplier countries for the first time since the 1950s.
The electrical industry is no exception - on the contrary. Nine European countries, eight EU countries and Switzerland are now ahead of Great Britain. Almost all EU countries show double-digit growth rates, which, however, can easily be achieved after the first pandemic year in 2020. Great Britain, however, adds to the trade slump of the previous year another Brexit-related slump of -16 percent. Imports from the Netherlands, the most important transit country for deliveries from Great Britain, are stagnating at a high level, as they are also being damaged by the decline of the trading partner on the other side of the English Channel.
In contrast, Eastern Europe can benefit from additional investments and the return of numerous truck drivers from Great Britain, so that Germany's trade relations with these countries have received a significant boost from a logistics perspective as well. Romania seems to benefit greatly from this and with an import value of 2.9 billion (January-July 2021) is overtaking Great Britain (1.9 billion euros) by one billion. While imports from Great Britain are being crushed between the jungle of bureaucracy and a shortage of drivers, delivery traffic from Eastern Europe runs smoothly.
Other important supplier countries for the electrical industry are located in Asia, whereby in addition to the traditionally strong electrical suppliers China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan, Vietnam has now also overtaken Great Britain. Imports from the Philippines and Thailand are showing a steep upward trend and should soon also overtake Great Britain with this rapid development. In contrast, imports from the USA are still declining, albeit from a high level, which is partly due to considerable delivery bottlenecks in air transport and massive price increases in maritime transport.