FSB research reveals single market access is 'top priority' for small businesses

24 Mar 2017

Research carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has revealed that small businesses’ top priority post-Brexit is to be able to access the EU single market.

63% of firms surveyed believe that access to this market is key. Meanwhile, 49% of businesses selected the US as a priority market, with a further 28% choosing China as a key target market.

The FSB also discovered that 58% of small businesses find the EU single market easier to trade with than non-EU markets.

Additionally, 45% of exporters and 53% of importers find it cheaper to trade with the EU single market than to trade with non-EU markets.

Commenting on the findings, Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the FSB, said: ‘Small firms trade with countries based on ease, cost and value and any future trade deal must deliver on these key aspects, both with the EU single market and non-EU markets.

‘The top non-EU countries of choice for trade deals include the US and China. However, the reality is that the EU single market is still a crucial market for smaller firms and cannot be undervalued.’

The FSB has called for the government to ‘secure the easiest and least costly access to the EU single market’ in its Brexit negotiations.