The European Apparel and Textile Confederation, Euratex, has warned against a hard Brexit, suggesting it is in the common interest of the UK and the EU27 industries to push for a smooth Brexit, thus enabling the current highly integrated supply chains to keep on working smoothly from fibers to end products.

Euratex says divergences in the regulatory legislation of the EU and UK would create trade barriers, result in high additional costs for consumers, would have a very serious impact on the industries of both sides given the comparably high import tariffs that would apply in the textile and clothing sector.

It says a future comprehensive EU27-UK trade and investment agreement should consider the already existing close economic relationship between the European textile and clothing industries and that a transitional arrangement should cover suspension of customs duties and all legal and regulatory areas with relevance for the textile and clothing industry.

The EU28 textile and clothing industry remains a significant industry within the EU, despite considerable outsourcing to southeast Asia over the past two decades. European textile and clothing companies are globally leading, regarding technical textiles, sophisticated high-quality yarns and fibers, and high-end apparel goods.

The UK lies in third place for the EU27's most important trade partners in textile and clothing goods.