The Confederation of British Industry published a report showing that UK business overwhelming prefer to stay with EU rules after Brexit. Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said the report comes from “heart of British business” and it provides “unparalleled evidence to inform good decisions that will protect jobs, investment and living standards across the UK.” She urged “major acceleration” in the partnership between businesses and the government to deal with Brexit issues.
She warned that “it’s vitally important that negotiators understand the complexity of rules and the effects that even the smallest of changes can have. Deviation from rules in one sector will have a knock-on effect on businesses in others, and divergence from rules in one part of a production process will have consequences for market access throughout entire supply chains.”
Fairbairn added that “it’s hard to overstate the importance of the decisions that will be taken over the next six months. Put simply, for the majority of businesses, diverging from EU rules and regulations will make them less globally competitive, and so should only be done where the evidence is clear that the benefits outweigh the costs.”
CBI devised three principles for further Brexit negotiations:
- Where rules are fundamental to the trade or transport of goods, the UK and EU must negotiate ongoing convergence.
- In the negotiation of the new relationship, both sides should look to set a new international precedent in the trade of services and digital products.
- Alignment will need to come with mechanisms for influence and enforcement that benefit both sides.
Here is the 114-paged reported titled “Smooth operations: An A-Z of the EU rules that matter for the economy“.
