The IHK of North Westphalia and NRW Ministry of Economics initiate NRW-British Economic Meeting | CE experts of the gds group accompany talks in Birmingham | Companies fear loss of CE certification

Sassenberg / Birmingham, February 05, 2019 - For German companies, the impending Brexit will mean one thing above all else: agonizing uncertainty. The gds Group is now actively committed to maintaining smooth trade relations between German companies and Great Britain. The full-service provider of technical documentation accompanies the exchange with the West Midlands region and the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, which was initiated by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) of North Westphalia and the NRW Ministry of Economics and started on 24 January. The aim is to continue German-British trade relations after a Brexit. The expertise of gds is in demand within the framework of this economic exchange, particularly when it comes to CE certification.

Ludger Bruns, Head of Service Consulting at the gds group, who accompanied the first so-called NRW-British Economic Meeting in Birmingham as CE expert, says: “Many companies maintaining German-British trade relations are asking themselves whether they need to re-certify their products, machines and plants in the wake of Brexit and whether they need to re-draft the technical documentation, something that would cost enormous amounts of money and take up a lot of time.” In principle, companies would soon be faced with the challenge of dealing directly with new legislation, filtering out differences on European CE certification and submitting new applications.

The CE label is a prerequisite for marketing a product in the European Economic Area. If the EU and the UK do not agree that conformity continues to be recognized in all countries, companies in the CE environment would be faced with an enormous additional burden. Ludger Bruns explains: “The certification bodies in the United Kingdom may lose their validity if the British leave the EU. Without notified bodies in the EU, export articles affected by various EU directives would no longer be permitted. For EU companies, this also means that certificates issued in the UK will become invalid in EU countries.” 

To be continued: Discussions to continue

Both sides agreed that cooperation between the IHK of North Westphalia and the West Midlands region around Birmingham should be continued. The representatives of the chambers of commerce would like to work more closely together, in particular with regard to training courses and the organization of roadshows. The option of more intensive cooperation should also be examined where the access conditions for growing companies to financing offers are concerned.

gds will also continue to actively participate in the exchange on the future of CE labeling. In addition to advising and supporting its own customers, the Sassenberg-based company continues to exchange expertise with the Ministry of Economic Affairs. In addition, the CE experts at gds are in contact with German universities in order to expand their knowledge of current certification procedures. The Chamber of Foreign Trade in London is also interested in cooperation.