GERMANY'S MID-SIZED manufacturers, collectively known as the Mittelstand, form the backbone of the world's fourth-largest economy. The fifth-biggest export market for their precision-engineered machinery and components is Britain, especially its car industry. Brexit, then, should be a worry. Yet according to BVWM, their trade association, only 17.6% of Mittelstan-dler surveyed at the end of 2018 said they were "well prepared" for Brexit. Fully 77% thought Brexit would not affect them.
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