The economic uncertainty created by the threat of US tariffs is also leading to stagnation among Flemish entrepreneurs says Frank Beckx, who is set to take over at the Flemish employers’ organisation Voka. ‘In this chaos, you can hardly make decisions,’ he said. Mr Beckx was speaking with VRT News ahead of the most recent twist in the tarde war, the US 90-day pause on retaliatory tariffs.
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Flemish employers warn of economic stagnation in Flanders as a result of Trump's tariffs
Colin Clapson
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The introduction of the new US 10% across-the-board tariff is also making itself felt among Flemish companies. Frank Beckx, who from September will be the new managing director at Voka, has noticed this by the worried reactions pouring in at the Flemish employers' organisation.
‘We are getting more than 100 questions a day at our Chambers of Commerce’.
‘How are these tariffs calculated? What if you import raw materials from outside the European Union, make a product here and then export it to the US? We try to gather the right information as best we can and pass it on to the government, because an answer to these questions is needed.’
'Wait and see' approach facilitates stagnation
Meanwhile, the unpredictability is having an impact. ‘Uncertainty reigns and our economy could do without that right now. It leads to stagnation."
"The strategy of many entrepreneurs today is to wait and see. You can hardly make decisions in this chaos."
In this respect, there is very little distinction between large or small companies, Mr Beckx notes. 'Everyone is affected. Look at the pharmaceutical sector. While it seemed ruled out last week, Trump is today threatening to introduce a higher tariff anyway' Mr Beckx said on Wednesday
Flanders eyes South America and Asia
Flemish exporters would therefore do well to turn their sights to other markets in due course, says the future VOKA chief.
‘We will have to approach the Mercosur, look towards South America, but also to Indonesia and India that was visited by a Belgian trade mission recently. We are going to have to diversify and not place all our bets on the United States."
EU single market still has barriers restricting growth
Although part of the solution also lies closer to home, he believes.
‘We Europeans must also become even more competitive. In the large internal market we have, with 450 million consumers, barriers also still exist today. As a result, we are still ignoring some 10 per cent of our gross domestic product in missed economic opportunities."