UK Trade with the EU: A New Trading Order for the Manufacturing Industry

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Series Details March 2017
Publication Date March 2017
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The EEF (formerly known as the Engineering Employers' Federation) is the professional association representing the manufacturing and engineering industry in the United Kingdom.In this Brexit Briefing issued in March 2017 the EEF set out the UK manufacturer and engineering sector’s first formal thoughts on the future trading relationship with its most significant export partner – the EU post-Brexit.

Leaving the EU Single Market and potentially the customs union - the only trading environment many manufacturers have ever known - will be painful and costly. To do so without a replacement trade deal in place would be hugely problematic for businesses.

Why? Because this is no ordinary Free Trade Agreement (FTA) scenario.

The reason the UK-EU situation is so different is because unlike any other FTA where both parties are aiming to open themselves up to each other’s markets and reach economic convergence, the EU and the UK are already converged - as no two other trading blocs are anywhere in the world.

Walking away from a deal in a typical FTA scenario would leave both parties no worse off than when they came to the negotiating table. For a completely converged UK and EU to tear down the entire system virtually overnight and walk away from the negotiating table with no alternative to fall back on - could only result in significant immediate cost and pain - for manufacturers and consumers.

Manufacturers must have a trade deal in place and the UK should aim for:

+ Being a fully-fledged WTO member
+ Continuing its key role in developing product standards
+ Zero tariffs
+ Favourable rules of origin
+ Mutual recognition and enforcement of customs procedures
+ The ability to strike trade deals with the rest of the world
+ A transition period:

Source Link Link to Main Source https://www.eef.org.uk/~/media/files/resources-and-knowledge/industry-reports/2017/uk-trade-with-the-eu_a-new-trading-order-for-the-manufacturing-industry.pdf
Related Links
Blog: EEF, 27.03.17: No deal is a no-go for manufacturers https://www.eef.org.uk/campaigning/news-blogs-and-publications/blogs/2017/mar/no-deal-is-a-no-go-for-manufacturers
ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/
EEF: Campaigning: UK Manufacturing and Brexit https://www.eef.org.uk/campaigning/campaigns-and-issues/current-campaigns/manufacturing-and-europe

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