U.K. Retailers Fret About Soaring Prices as Brexit Weakens Pound
- BRC asks government to prioritize consumers in negotiations
- Sterling weakened most since June 23 EU referendum last week
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U.K. retailers called on the government to protect consumers from higher prices, pointing to cost pressures from the weakness of the pound and the risk of tariffs on imports from the trading bloc.
Sterling’s almost 17 percent drop since the Brexit vote is “compounding economic headwinds,” the British Retail Consortium said in an open letter to Trade Secretary Liam Fox Monday. As officials prepare for negotiations to leave the European Union, the group also said firms have little margin to absorb added costs from tariffs -- which it said could be as high as 27 percent on EU meat imports -- and from additional administration.