// Lidl warns UK suppliers on rising costs in the event of a no-deal Brexit
// The German discounter wrote to suppliers last week
// 2 suppliers have confirmed receiving Lidl’s call for suppliers to cover expected costs
Lidl has warned British suppliers that they will encounter rising costs as a result of a no-deal Brexit.
The German discounter wrote to suppliers last week asking for their confirmation that they would be “deliver duty paid-ready” as the UK looks to crash out of the EU this October.
Lidl’s transportation of goods to and from the EU would suffer from tariffs under World Trade Organisation rules, as a result of a no-deal Brexit.
Meanwhile, two suppliers have confirmed receiving Lidl’s call for suppliers to cover the expected costs, The Sunday Times reported.
One supplier said: “Lidl obviously believes we will reach that situation, and what it is saying is it wants us to pay the duty”, while the other said he expects Lidl to “take us to the precipice and threaten to delist our products” during negotiations on costs.
Newly-appointed Prime Minster Boris Johnson said he does not want to impose tariffs on imports, but the government will not be able to control tariffs on exports in the event of no-deal.
Exports to the EU would face an average tariff of 45 per cent on dairy products, 18 per cent on meat and 12 per cent on fruit and vegetables, in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
Suppliers to Irish supermarkets are understood to be rearranging freight routes to bypass the UK entirely in order to avoid rising costs.
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