Confidence in the euro has fallen by 18% amongst UK Exporters, according to new research from Bibby Financial Services. Today less than half of exporters (47%) believe that the UK should join the euro, compared to 65% in 2000.
Only a fifth (22%) of those surveyed now believe that the UK should join the euro immediately, compared with 31% of exporters who participated in a survey 12 months ago, a fall of nearly 10%.
15% of respondents now never want to join the euro zone. While a surprisingly high proportion (16%) consider that euro entry to be irrelevant to their businesses.
The key concerns regarding entry include fears that inward investment would decrease (25%), while 17% suggest taxes would rise if Britain joins the euro. Only 4% of those surveyed felt that the euro would have no impact on their business.
