UK MPs voted down Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit Withdrawal Agreement made with the European Union (EU) in the House of Commons leaving a no deal ever closer as the days tick down to 29 March when the UK leaves the bloc.
MPs voted by 432 votes to 202 to reject the deal, the heaviest defeat for a sitting government in history and PM May faces a vote of no confidence later. If she wins, she is set to submit a revised plan and looks set to reach out to opposition MPs.
The UK will leave the EU on 29 March and a no deal is looking more likely as no agreement is in place and it is 70 days until the UK officially leaves or as some say ‘crash out’ of the bloc.
A no deal is feared by much of the logistics and freight sectors and in response to the news, Kuehne + Nagel chief executive officer, Detlef Trefzger said a “disorderly Brexit is the worst solution”.
He said: “It will impose massive restrictions on the exchange of goods between the European Union and the United Kingdom. We appeal to the responsible bodies in London and Brussels to do the utmost to prevent this scenario. As far as we are concerned, we are focussed on ensuring the constant flow of goods for our customers.”
He added that Kuehne + Nagel is committed to global free trade in principle which ensures prosperity for everyone and from the forwarder’s perspective, ‘No Brexit’ would be the “preferred solution”, as any form of Brexit is “bound to increase trade barriers”.
Kuehne + Nagel said it has engaged customers and own industry experts over the past years to assess all possible impacts and to cope with the effects of a disorderly Brexit Kuehne + Nagel has taken steps to review all options to secure capacity on trade routes with Europe outside of the Kent corridor both by sea and air. The company has commenced recruitment of additional customs clerks.
