Almost half of European businesses with British suppliers are finding replacements elsewhere in the EU, according to research underlining the threat that Brexit poses to exports.
The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, after surveying more than 2,000 supply chain managers, said that its findings demonstrated that the “separation from Europe is already well under way”.
Bosses are not waiting for the outcome of Article 50 talks before shielding their businesses from the potential impact of tariffs, customs procedures and regulatory hurdles.
The institute said that European businesses were more confident that they would be able to adjust to a hard Brexit by “reshoring” their supply chains within the single market. Forty-six per cent said that they expected a greater proportion of the supply chain