No deal would be “disastrous” says UK and EU manufacturers
FEA is a signatory to a collaborative letter sent to the UK government and the European Commission calling on them to keep negotiating, avoid a no deal Brexit, and ensure that the deal signed avoids tariffs, simplifies rules and minimises red tape.
The letter, from British manufacturers and their European counterparts, is signed by many of the UK’s leading manufacturers and trade associations. The UK version was sent under the auspices of MAKE UK, the manufacturers’ organisation.
The letter makes no bones about the consequences of a no-deal Brexit, describing it as ‘disastrous’ and saying it would threaten the jobs of millions in the UK and EU.
The letter says:
“While UK manufacturing is slowly recovering from the ongoing Covid crisis, essential to that recovery is the seamless operation of supply chains and the modern marvel of just-in-time logistics.
“A no-deal scenario with our most critical trading partner, the EU, would be disastrous for manufacturing and for the millions more employed in supporting industries both here in the UK and across the EU.
“The impacts would go far beyond disruptions in trade at the border. Families and communities would be left hanging in the balance, affecting real people who need the well-paid jobs that manufacturing provides alongside its contribution of almost half of Britain’s global exports.
“Manufacturing and engineering companies employ 2.7million in every constituency up and down the UK and many millions more across the whole of Europe. Their products power our lives – the cars we drive, the technology behind our schools and hospitals, even the meals we consume. Britain is a leading exporter of innovation, product and technical skills which are playing a critical part in boosting efforts to lead our economic recovery and the same can be said for many of the great manufacturing nations across Europe.
“The Covid crisis has had an incredibly damaging impact across the UK and Europe. As a consequence it has been impossible to fully prepare for the changes that are coming in January. Should we face the challenge of an acrimonious exit without a deal, businesses in the UK and Europe are united in the view that they are not and cannot be ready for the disruption that we face.”
Keith Warren, chief executive of FEA, signed the letter on behalf of the Association. “The letter tells it straight – a no-deal Brexit will be disastrous for manufacturers in the UK and the EU,” he says. “It’s in everyone’s interests to achieve the best deal possible, and that has to mean avoiding tariffs, simplifying rules of origin and minimising red tape and bureaucracy at the border.”
Note for editors
The MAKE UK version of the letter was signed by the following:
Stephen Phipson CBE, CEO Make UK
Oliver Zander, Chairman, Ceemet
Paul Sheerin, CEO Scottish Engineering
Stephen Kelly, CEO Manufacturing NI
Peter Bloch, Director EEF NI
Peter Davies, Chief Executive, James Lister
Rowan Crozier, CEO, Brandauer
Matthias Meyer, Managing Director, Heller Machine Tools
John Taylor, Chief Executive, SG Technologies
Helen Doughty, Director, SHD Composite Materials
George Wright, Managing Director, M Wright & Sons Ltd
Fiona Ellis-Winkfield, Managing Director, Gordon Winkfield
Andrea Wilson, Director, Hone-all
Austen Adams, Director, Avingtrans & Chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Business Board
Raymond Oliver, Managing Director, Sone Products
David Mitchell, Managing Director, Katmex Ltd
Leanne Holmes, Managing Director, Crane Payment Innovations
Peter Morris, Vice President, Finance & Global Supply Chain, Transcontinental Advanced Coatings
Barry Leahey, Managing Director, Playdale Playgrounds
Adrian May, Commercial Manager, Presspart Manufacturing Ltd
Mark Lord, Managing Director, Aztec Oils
Robert Pickersgill, Managing Director, W Hallam Castings
James Tear, Managing Director, Thessco Ltd
Brian Reece, CEO & Managing Director, Sheffield Precision Medical
James Greenham, Managing Director, EMS Physio
Tom McMurtrie, Managing Director, Hymid Multi Shot Ltd
Vanda Jones, Executive Director, British Compressed Air Society
Sue Halliwell, Operations Manager, Composites UK
Peter Hunt, COO, Lighting Industry Association
Steve Brambley, Chief Executive, GAMBICA
Nick Mellor, Managing Director, LEIA
Geraldine Bolton, Chief Executive, Confederation of British Metalforming
David Harrison, Chief Operating Officer, PPMA, BARA & UKIVA
Julia Moore, Chief Executive, GTMA
Charles Byrne, Technical Director, Graham Hart Process Technology
Dr Andrew Mair, Chief Executive, Midlands Aerospace Alliance
Tom Bowtell, CEO, British Coatings Federation
Robert Fell, Director and Chief Executive, Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association
Steve Schofield, Director & Chief Executive, British Pump Manufacturers Association
Martin Maley, Director General, NASS
André González De Savage, Chief Executive, British Enterprise Partnership
Diana Taylor, Managing Director, Marketing Humber
Keith Warren, Chief Executive, Foodservice Equipment Association
Alan Murray, CEO, British Safety Industry Federation
James Selka, CEO, MTA
Philip Law, Director General, BPF
Rob Oliver, Chief Executive, CEA
Richard Fallon, CEO, The Technology Supply Chain
Andrew Churchill, Director, JJ Churchill
Mike Hague Morgan, Co-Owner & Commercial Director, Autocraft Drivetrain
Stuart Johnson, Director, Rutland Plastics
Len Palmer, Managing Director, Lander Automotive Ltd.
Simon Beech, COO, Naysmyth Group
Chris Perry, Managing Director, Timberwolf
Darren Joint, Managing Director, Viking Signs
Tony Greig, CEO, Legrand Electric
Richard Herbert, Executive Chairman, Herbert Group
Almero Barnard, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Jellagen Marine Biotechnologies
David O’Hare, Managing Director, Clwyd Compounders
Gavin Peters, CEO-UK, Tri-Wall UK
Mike Evans, Managing Director, EBS Automation Ltd
Neil Gregory, Director, G.O.S. Tool & Engineering Services Ltd
Paul Crutcher, Operations Director, Bisley
Paul Evans, Head of Finance & IT, Team Precision Pipe Assemblies
Peter Lewis, Managing Director, Industrial Automation and Control Ltd
Robert Munro, Operations Director, Denis Ferranti Group
Stephen Jones, Managing Director, Altron Communications Equipment Ltd
Stephen Morris, Joint Managing Director, John Liscombe Ltd
Vanda Jones, Executive Director, British Compressed Air Society