We live in an interconnected world as anybody who has gone abroad knows. Many of the high street shops in Dortmund can be found in Madrid, New York and London. Big financial institutions have branches in major centres around the world. Very few big industrial players are owned by a single family, or even shareholders drawn from a single nation; we live in a multi-national age. This can be illustrated in modern (European) car production which takes advantages of specialised facilities across the continent to produce the final vehicle that rolls off a production line – often destined for sale in another market from the one in which it was finally assembled.
A “no deal” Brexit would see impositions of tariffs on car parts the following day. The European car industry chiefs, all 23 of them, have said this would have a “seismic impact” on car manufacture in Europe. The automotive business associations noted:
“The UK’s departure from the EU without a deal would trigger a seismic shift in trading conditions, with billions of euros of tariffs threatening to impact consumer choice and affordability on both sides of the Channel”.
Major producers Nissan, BMW, and Peugeot PSA all have production facilities in the UK which would be affected by Brexit. PSA’s Christian Peugeot said: “Brexit is not just a British problem, we are all concerned in the European automotive industry, and even further”.
Bernhard Mattes of Germany’s VDA auto lobby added: “The EU and UK automotive industries need frictionless trade and would be harmed significantly by additional duties and administrative burden on automotive parts and vehicles”.
The European car industry relies upon the EU Single Market providing “just-in-time” supply chains across the EU, free from administrative impediments or tariffs. The UK is the market for roughly 10% of vehicles assembled on the continent, at the moment.
They urged both sides to avoid a “no deal” outcome to the Brexit process.
Whereas at one time Brexiteers claimed that the German car industry would deliver the UK a great Brexit deal, it now appears that European car manufacturers are imploring the UK government not to leave the EU without any deal!