BERLIN, June 22 (Reuters) - Brexit has been an "economic disaster" for trade and investment ties between the United Kingdom and Germany, leading to a fall in German direct investment and seeing the UK decline in importance as a trading partner, German economists said.
"Brexit is an economic disaster for both sides of the channel," Volker Treier, head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), told Reuters on Thursday.
According to the DIHK, some 2,163 German companies are now active in the UK, 5.2% fewer than in 2016.
Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), an organisation that helps international companies set up business in Germany, has counted more than 1,000 new businesses from the UK since the Brexit vote.
Germany's size and central location are an advantage when it comes to attracting UK companies, he added.
Persons:
Volker Treier, Treier, Robert Hermann, Rene Wagner, Maria Martinez, Emma Rumney
Organizations:
European Union, German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Reuters, Germany Trade, Invest, EU, Thomson
Locations:
BERLIN, United Kingdom, Germany, Britain, U.S, Switzerland