“Given the uncertainty of the UK exit model (Brexit), this may make us face some difficulties in exports this year,” said Vieira. “The country [UK] is a very important client for Portugal.”
“We are not going to feel such intense movements of export growth, as we have fortunately become accustomed to in recent years. We do not expect the economy to shrink and we continue to predict growth of the Portuguese economy above the European Union average,” he added.
Speaking in parliament, Vieira said that “the moments of uncertainty” that characterise international trade, such as the US-China trade war and the uncertainties of Brexit, affect worldwide demand and thus “the most exporting economies.”
In this worldwide context, Portugal, as an “open and exporting economy,” also suffers impacts, and it is “likely that the pace of exports will slow down.”
