GERMANY – Foreign trade with Great Britain is of great relevance for the German furniture industry. The United Kingdom represents the sixth largest export market for the industry.

“Against this background, the Brexit problem is currently moving our manufacturers enormously,” said Jan Kurth, Managing Director of the furniture associations (VDM / VHK-Herford), at a VDM Brexit webinar on December 10th, which was well attended with around 80 participants.

As is well known, Great Britain left the European Union at the end of January 2020. The agreed transition phase will expire at the end of this year without there being a follow-up agreement.

The webinar, which was organized in cooperation with Intertek Consumer Goods and Reuschlaw Legal Consultants, was particularly dedicated to questions about drafting contracts with British business partners, regulatory requirements and labeling requirements for products. Among other things, the furniture manufacturers received an urgent recommendation to review their supply structures with Great Britain – both with a view to purchasing and exporting.

The furniture industry has already felt the negative effects of Brexit in recent years. From 2016 to 2019, German furniture exports to Great Britain fell by around 11 percent. In the first nine months of 2020, furniture exports to the United Kingdom fell further by 14.4 percent to around 300 million euros.

VDM Managing Director Kurth underlined the hope that a mutually beneficial trade agreement would be concluded quickly by the end of the year. This would make it easier for companies to plan and stabilize the volume of trade between the EU and Great Britain in the furniture sector as well.