Most British firms are unprepared for Brexit, but a fifth plan to move all or some of their business to the European Union in the event the U.K. fails to reach a deal with the bloc, according to one of the biggest surveys so far on the topic.

Iran Press/Europe: Some 62 percent of companies are yet to carry out a Brexit risk assessment, according to the survey published Friday by the British Chambers of Commerce.

Their poll of more than 2,500 companies also found that 21 percent of businesses would cut investment in the U.K. in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

According to Bloomberg, The findings are a wake-up call for the government, underlining the lack of preparation in corporate Britain and the potential economic damage that would result from a chaotic Brexit. Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposal was rejected by European leaders last week, forcing her to come up with a new Brexit plan both the EU and the warring factions in her Conservative Party can accept.

The uncertainty about Brexit deepened in July when Barnier rejected key proposals from a plan submitted by British Prime Minister Theresa May earlier that month. May’s so-called white paper also sparked domestic controversies and caused two senior ministers in her cabinet, including Raab’s predecessor David Davis, to resign.

 

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May’s recently published white paper calls explicitly for the U.K. to leave the EU’s customs union and single market, while demanding a new “facilitated customs arrangement” under which, “as if in a combined customs territory with the EU, the U.K. would apply the EU’s tariffs and trade policy for goods intended for the EU. The U.K. would also apply its own tariffs and trade policy for goods intended for consumption in the U.K.”

 

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