COVID-Hit Businesses Call For Pragmatic Approach To Secure Historic UK-EU Agreement – CBI & TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

Image Courtesy of CBI

Sectors from automotive to aviation, chemicals to creative industries, and farming and food to pharmaceuticals – are united: securing a quick agreement matters greatly for jobs and livelihoods.

Clarity on an ambitious deal will turbo charge business preparations and increase confidence in the U.K. as a place to invest. Crucially, it will also help ease the sustainable implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The statement below (see Notes to Editors for full list of signatories) is accompanied by details from 21 trade associations and professional bodies outlining how a deal will help their sector contribute fully to the UK’s economic recovery.

It follows an intervention earlier this week by leading European business groups from France, Germany and Italy, calling for ‘a solution which ensures smooth trading conditions’.

Joint Statement Starts:

“Now is the time for historic political leadership. With compromise and tenacity, a deal can be done. Businesses call on leaders on both sides to find a route through.

“The clarity that comes with an ambitious deal will have an instant impact on firms’ efforts to prepare. It will help investment by removing the threat of tariffs and quotas. And it will catalyse confidence through enhanced customs cooperation while making a precious data agreement possible, vital for services industries which make up 80% of the UK economy. 
 
“Businesses are doing what they can to prepare for Brexit. But firms face a hat-trick of unprecedented challenges: rebuilding from the first wave of COVID-19, dealing with the second and uncertainty over the UK’s trading relationship with the EU.

“That’s why more than three quarters of UK firms say they need a deal, quickly.

“With each day that passes, business resilience is chipped away. A swift deal is the single most effective way to support recovery in communities across Europe.

“After four years of debate, there must be a resolution. 2021 can then be a year to rebuild, rather than regret.”

Caroline Norbury, CEO of Creative Industries Federation, representing the creative industries sector and 2.1 million jobs said: “The EU is a major market for the UK’s creative industries, with the UK exporting £15.4 billion in creative service exports to the EU each year. More than that, access to world-leading creative talent and the ability for the UK’s creative practitioners to tour the EU without undue cost or red tape has been a major contributor to the success of the UK’s creative industries, enabling the sector to grow five times as fast as the wider economy. Securing a deal will not only provide our world-leading sector with a level of certainty in what are highly uncertain times, it will enable the UK’s creative industries to remain highly competitive, innovative and able to drive the UK’s economic, social and cultural regeneration as we move forward.”

Adam Mansell, CEO of the UK Fashion and Textile Association representing a sector that employs over 800,000 people said: “The EU accounts for over 70% of our exports and a deal is vital to protect trade with our biggest market. Covid-19 has meant businesses have been unable to prepare for the impact of a ‘no deal’ and accelerated the shift to online, creating a faster-moving consumer environment. A deal will support growth in domestic and near-shore supply chains to meet that demand, secure UK jobs and provide a significant boost to the thousands of businesses that export to the EU.’’

Helen Brocklebank, Chief Executive of Walpole, the representative of British luxury with over 270 members, said: “British Luxury is a sector that brings £48bn to the UK economy each year and supports over 160,000 highly skilled, sustainable jobs throughout the UK. A deal that removes the spectre of tariffs and quotas is needed with speed. For too long our businesses have operated in an environment of uncertainty. This cannot continue if British luxury is to recover from the pandemic and continue to provide economic growth and enhance the Global Britain brand.”