BCF welcomes Government’s Brexit plans for export strategy but urges caution

The UK Government recently announced its plans for implementing its export strategy in post Brexit Britain, which was welcomed in the traditionally strong exporting industry of coatings.

The British Coatings Federation (BCF) supports the ambition to raise exports as a proportion of Britain’s GDP from 30% to 35%, however there needs to be some substance behind the headlines.

Following the announcement, BCF CEO Tom Bowtell commented, "Exporting is important to our members, with three out of five BCF members exporting successfully today and the UK being a net exporter of coatings and printing inks.

"However, amidst the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the exporting performance of the coatings industry has deteriorated, with year to date export volumes down by six percent.

"It is critical for the coatings and wider chemicals industry that we see a positive Brexit outcome and continued membership of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), to create an environment where our members can trade freely.

"This has to be part of any export strategy for our sector.”