Boost for Leave after head of German industry says EU would be ‘very, very foolish’ to erect tariffs on the UK after a Brexit
Boris Johnson seized on the remarks and said Germany would be 'desperate' for free trade with Britain if we vote to leave tomorrow
GERMANY would be "very, very foolish" to erect tariffs on the UK after a Brexit said the head of the country's industry body in a boost to the Leave campaign’s economic argument.
Boris Johnson seized on the remarks by Markus Kerber, and said the country would be "desperate" for free trade with Britain if voters choose to quit Brussels in tomorrow’s referendum.
The Tory said any taxes on British exports to Germany would represent a "regression to times we thought we'd left behind in the 1970s".
Mr Kerber, the head of the BDI, or federation of German industries, urged his country and the EU to draw up a free-trade regime that could operate after Brexit.
He said if the UK left it would be like a relative leaving the family and lead to "serious disruption" in the German-UK economic relationship.
Speaking to the BBC's World Service he said: "Imposing trade barriers, imposing protectionist measures between our two countries - or between the two political centres, the European Union on the one hand and the UK on the other - would be a very, very foolish thing in the 21st century.
"The BDI would urge politicians on both sides to come up with a trade regime that enables us to uphold and maintain the levels of trade we have, although it will become more difficult."
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Mr Johnson told a BBC debate on Tuesday night that EU countries would be "insane" to erect trade barriers against the UK if it pulled out of the union, using the specific example of Germany.
Responding to Mr Kerber's comments on Wednesday, the Tory MP said: "After the incessant doom-mongering of the In campaign, we now hear the truth from the 'voice of German industry' - that they would be desperate for free trade after we Vote Leave.
"Of course EU countries will continue trading with us on a tariff-free basis - they would be damaging their own commercial interests if they didn't.
“That's why EU politicians would be banging down the door for a trade deal on Friday.
"As Sir James Dyson said today, this is the last opportunity to regain control of our futures.
"If we want to take back control and a more secure and more prosperous future, we have to Vote Leave on June 23."