UK car firms on 150-day countdown to 'devastating cliff edge' over Brexit rules

03 August 2023 , 23:01

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Car manufacturers face tighter rules for exporting electric vehicles from January 1 (Image: Getty)

Time is running out to strike a deal with Brussels over post-Brexit rules which could hamper British car exports, Labour warns today.

Shadow International Trade Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said the Government had just 150 days to fix a “devastating cliff edge” looming for UK vehicle manufacturers. From January 1, electric cars exported from Britain to the EU - and electric cars sent from the bloc across the Channel - must source batteries from within the EU or UK or face 10% tariffs.

The “rules of origin” plan - agreed by Boris Johnson when he signed the Trade and Cooperation agreement with the EU - was designed to curb European and British firms’ reliance on Asian goods. But UK and European manufacturers want the rules delayed until 2027 - and Mr Thomas-Symonds has urged Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch to thrash out a compromise before the clock ticks down to midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Shadow International Trade Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds (Getty Images)

In a letter to the Cabinet Minister, seen by the Mirror, he warns: “There are just 150 days left to fix the devastating cliff edge for the British car manufacturing industry. As you will be aware, there is an urgent need to secure an agreement with the EU on rules of origin provisions before the imposition of tariffs on car exports. Manufacturers in both the UK and the EU have been warning that they will not be able to comply with the incoming rules of origin changes your Government negotiated.”

Blasting “yet more uncertainty for major UK employers and related supply chains”, the Labour frontbencher fumes: “It is unacceptable that it has come to this point.”

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He adds: “Workers in this sector are understandably fearing for their jobs and, as a result, we are writing to seek urgent assurances that concrete steps are being taken to ensure Britain's car industry can continue to make cars for export into the European market. It should not have come to this. There is also no excuse for the Government having failed to plan for these eventualities and put in place the necessary mitigations.”

Mr Thomas-Symonds told the Mirror: “Failure to secure an agreement on the rules of origin with the EU will put at risk our world-class automotive sector, which currently employs 800,000 people. In the short term, the Government must get a grip and find an agreement that secures these vital jobs, urgently. We cannot go on with this Conservative economic chaos and the damaging instability it is causing.”

A Government spokesman said: “The Business Secretary is acutely aware of this issue and at every opportunity has raised it directly with counterparts in the EU.

“This is an issue that affects businesses in the UK and the EU, and we are working hard to find a solution.

“The UK is one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing with recent successes such as the £4billion investment in a gigafactory by Tata Group and Nissan’s £1bn investment EV hub in Sunderland.”

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Ben Glaze