UK car industry needs ‘swift EU deal to curb high tariffs’

Britain must strike a trade deal with Europe as soon as possible to protect the country’s multi-billion pound car industry and avoid high tariffs, reports BBC on Saturday.
David Bailey, professor of industry at Aston University, warned of a “big uncertainty” for the sector following the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
Without a deal, he fears a return to the days when the industry faced a 10 per cent tariff on exports.
The UK exports 77.3 per cent of its car output, 57.5 per cent of which goes to Europe.
“What we don’t want in two years’ time is to go back to [World Trade Organisation] rules which involve 10 per cent tariffs on car exports,” he said.
Prof Bailey added: “Remember, the car industry has had about £8bn investment in the last four years - companies coming here to produce cars largely for the European market. We do not want to deter that.
“So, we need to make it clear to those companies as quickly as possible that free access to the European market is still in place and we will have a good trading relationship with Europe.”
Almost 1.6 million cars were built in the UK last year, up 3.9 per cent on 2014. Industry analysts predict car output to reach record levels of around two million units by 2017, overtaking the 1972 record of 1.92 million.
Ford, which employs about 14,000 staff in the UK, warned on Friday that it would “take whatever action is needed to ensure that our European business remains competitive and keeps to the path toward sustainable profitability”.

UK car industry needs swift EU deal to curb high tariffs

Britain must strike a trade deal with Europe as soon as possible to protect the countrys multi-billion pound car industry and avoid high tariffs, reports BBC on Saturday. David Bailey, professor of industry at Aston University, warned of a big uncertainty for the sector following the UKs vote to leave the EU. Without a deal, he fears a return to the days when the industry faced a 10 per cent tariff on exports. The UK exports 77.3 per cent of its car output, 57.5 per cent of which goes to Europe. What we dont want in two years time is to go back to [World Trade Organisation] rules which involve 10 per cent tariffs on car exports, he said. Prof Bailey added: Remember, the car industry has had about 8bn investment in the last four years - companies coming here to produce cars largely for the European market. We do not want to deter that. So, we need to make it clear to those companies as quickly as possible that free access to the European market is still in place and we will have a good trading relationship with Europe. Almost 1.6 million cars were built in the UK last year, up 3.9 per cent on 2014. Industry analysts predict car output to reach record levels of around two million units by 2017, overtaking the 1972 record of 1.92 million. Ford, which employs about 14,000 staff in the UK, warned on Friday that it would take whatever action is needed to ensure that our European business remains competitive and keeps to the path toward sustainable profitability.