This letter was published 24 July 2015 in the Financial Times: click here to view
Sir,
Although I can go along with Ed Balls’ general comments of Britain in Europe (“The risk of fumbling the Europe poll”, July 22), I don’t agree with his and the general British public’s belief that it is such a godsend for Britain not being in the euro. It certainly isn’t for exporters!
Just like the other “independent minded” nations’ currencies, sterling has been revalued over the past 18 months by around 30 per cent and is nearly 40 per cent higher than at its low point in 2008-09. British exports to Europe and the rest of the world are suffering and importers are gaining market share with disastrous effects on the balance of payments, which is heading for a record deficit of about 6 per cent of gross domestic product. At the same time, the eurozone is heading for a balance of payment surplus in 2015 of about €200bn. It shows that currency markets don’t follow the real economy but interest rate expectations, and that individual countries’ currencies become a plaything for the markets.
UK manufacturers don’t just suffer from the overvalued currency, but also have to bear the cost of currency exchange and hedging. Germany and the other eurozone members can trade without the volatility and uncertainty of currencies in a market of 350m people — a huge advantage! The “March of the Manufacturers” has been blocked one more time.
Bob Bischof
Vice-President, German British Chamber of Industry & Commerce; Chairman, German British Forum
Robert Bischof 