Cypriot businesses are concerned about the prospect of a no deal Brexit, vice president of the Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB) Costas Christophides told Phileleftheros.
Christophides said that OEB called its members to examine all the problems they think their businesses will face in the event of a no deal Brexit and propose solutions in order to send them to the Foreign Ministry.
“There are many scenarios about Brexit and no country is fully prepared for every outcome,” Christophides said while noting that Britain’s exit from the EU will create numerous problems and many bilateral agreements will be needed in order to resolve them.
OEB members believe that the financial sector will face the biggest problems, Christophides said. “There is also concern about contacts and agreements between banks, as well as the framework around payments and transactions between sellers and banks,” he added.
Additionally, there are questions over liquidation of assets in cases companies or person go bankrupt, as well as for the protection of personal data.
Cypriot businesses are also particularly concerned about the cost of custom duties that will be imposed and the kind of documents exporters will need to provide, Christophides said.
In the case that tariffs change, the Customs Office will need to make a lot of preparations to adapt. “The Customs Office should prepare for a no deal Brexit in order to minimize the negative consequences that will arise,” Christofides concluded.
