What They Say
The UK currently imports around 3.7 million TVs and digital signage displays from Europe, valued at €900 million. If there is no agreement on a free trade deal with the EU, the imports would be subject to a 14% duty. That would force prices up.
What We Think
Of course, the Brexit negotiations haven’t finished, yet. I would still be surprised if there wasn’t a deal between the UK government and the EU. I keep thinking that Johnson and his government surely can’t be that stupid? We’ll see. There used to be a strong TV assembly business in the UK, especially in Wales and Scotland. However, the industry was shipped out to the area that I used to call JoG (Just outside Germany) after the wall came down. The 14% duty kept a supply chain in Europe and provided a lot of jobs and technology to the countries that joined the EU. I doubt that a new business could be built in the UK as the economies of scale would not really be there. If there is a 14% duty, then we could expect more imports from China as it would be subject to the same tariff. (BR)
