Biopharma Business

British manufacturers are asking the government to negotiate access to the single market and a form of customs union along with suitable transition period.

The call comes from EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation and a result that shows companies are already altering or considering altering their business plans in response to the decision to leave the EU.

The survey was conducted in April and included 244 companies.

EEF believes that unless the Government alters its strategy to pursue a more pro-business stance which puts the economy, investment and jobs at the forefront of its negotiating position, the resulting political instability may force more companies to alter their business plans away from the UK.

Terry Scuoler, chief executive of EEF, said:” The new Government’s priorities must radically re-focus Brexit negotiations around trade and close cooperation ensuring a smooth exit from the EU. There are numerous ways of establishing a new relationship with the EU and, given we’ve just wasted a year, the Government needs to move away from its previous rhetoric and start repairing relations with EU partners.

“This means putting access to the single market and a form of customs union at the heart of a revised strategy, and removing the shibboleths created around a hard Brexit, which businesses know would be highly damaging for Britain. The UK can surely manage who is and who is not in the country by introducing a more effective and robust form of immigration control which maintains the rights of EU citizens and UK citizens’ across Europe.

“With less than two years to negotiate a meaningful deal, the Government should commit to a significant period of transition to manage uncertainty for businesses and bolster confidence. Business groups can help with the negotiations over trade, which is the model every other Government involved in trade negotiations operates, and we need to be brought in quickly to do this. We need to build a political consensus based on our collective national interest.”

According to the EEF survey, around a quarter of manufacturers had already reviewed their business strategy before the election and are planning to make changes depending on the terms of any deal. Almost half are waiting to see the terms of any deal before deciding whether to make changes and only one fifth say they plan to make no changes to their business strategy.

Written by Reece Armstrong