The German state of Saxony-Anhalt may establish its own representation in Brexit UK. Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said this at a press conference at the British Museum in London on Wednesday. The CDU politician traveled to the British capital for talks with British Foreign Secretary Greg Hands.
He wants to find out about ways to boost trade between his federal state and Britain, which has fallen since Brexit.
“It is certainly worth considering,” Mr Haseloff said when asked if Saxony-Anhalt could have a representative office in London, as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg had already set up.
But a stronger collaboration with existing institutions such as the German-British Chamber of Commerce and Trade in London is also conceivable, Mr Haseloff added.
According to the CDU politician, the volume of trade between Saxony-Anhalt and Great Britain has almost halved since Brexit.
He said: “There has to be a tension somewhere in the works, legally but also in terms of implementation.”
As an example, I mentioned regulations for the transportation of dangerous goods or visa requirements for company employees.
Mr Haseloff said it was now a matter of finding out where Germany could make adjustments.
Saxony-Anhalt can contribute to solving problems, for example through initiatives in the Bundesrat.
According to Mr Haseloff, suppliers to the motor industry, the chemical industry and manufacturers of components for wind turbines are among those affected by the slump in exports from Saxony-Anhalt to Britain.
This is because Britain’s trade minister will on Thursday promise to target dozens of bureaucratic barriers to exports in a free trade tone, the day after she expanded a protectionist package of tariffs and quotas on steel products.
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Anne-Marie Trevelyan acknowledged the move to increase barriers to steel imports violated international trade rules, but said the situation justified the extension of security measures, even though she considered herself a fighter for free trade.
Before her speech on Thursday, the Ministry of Trade said it would target 100 priority issues worth £ 20 billion that could be resolved outside negotiations on new free trade agreements to replace the arrangements under which Britain operates in the European Union.
Among the trade barriers listed, it cited blocks on meat exports to countries in Asia, rules delaying medical devices from entering South Africa and restrictions on UK-trained lawyers practicing in Japan.
“We know that exporting businesses pay higher wages and are more productive than businesses that do not, but too often, complex trading rules and practical barriers prevent them from selling overseas,” Ms Trevelyan said in a statement.
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The trade ministry has said it has been given extra powers to remove such trade barriers due to Brexit – although Britain and the EU themselves are facing the prospect of a possible trade war over a dispute over trade arrangements in Northern Ireland.
The department said it had already supported the “resolution” of some 400 barriers to trade in more than 70 countries over the past two years.
The time frame for the actual removal of the barriers may not always be so short – the ministry said, for example, that the lifting of restrictions on British beef heading to South Korea, which could be worth £ 2.5 billion, has been resolved. will be in the next five years.
Additional Reporting by Monika Pallenberg