London – UK minister Richard Harrington today said the prospect of leaving the EU (Brexit) without a deal 'brings more than the shivers… it would be an absolute disaster'
Harrington, who is a junior minister for energy and industry was talking on the influential BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning.
He added ' I have examined in depth what might happen, I’m part of the government’s plans for Brexit. I’ve seen what may well happen with this cut-off date. Crashing out in my view ... is an absolute disaster. It’s not a road to a free trade agreement, it’s not a road to anything. It’s an absolute disaster for the country.'
Harrington, added car makers might close if there were customs checks at borders. He added that the possibility of continuing to trade with the EU and rest of the world on WTO terms if no deal is agreed was 'fanciful nonsense'.
Harrington's comments come less than a week after Prime Minister, Theresa May, could not persuade the house of commons to approve the Brexit deal negotiated with the EU.
May lost the vote on 15 January.
On 16 Steve Elliot, chief executive of the Chemical Industries Association (CIA), said there was ' general business disappointment' with the result.
'We continue to lack the certainty that business has called for since the day after the 2016 referendum, in order that investment decisions can be made,' he added.
Elliott said the CIA is continuing to 'advise of the consequences', adding that these are becoming more critical in terms of contingency plans and actions.
'Every delay risks either no decision on UK investment, trade and jobs or, worse than that, irreversible decisions,' he warned.
'In the chemical sector… we continue to call for minimal disruption. The whole industry is seeking frictionless free trade, regulatory consistency and access to skilled people,' Elliott added.
Before the vote, the British Plastics Federation (BPF) expressed its concern that no deal would hit the plastics sector. This is important for the UK, Plastics is the UK's third largest employer within the manufacturing industry.
A total of 100 companies took part in a BPF survey in December 2018. In all, two-thirds of respondents said they did not expect Brexit to benefit their business. Only 7% of respondents expected Brexit to be beneficial.
Overall, a total of 76% of respondents said a no-deal Brexit would have a negative or very negative impact on their business. In total, 53% said they were making contingency plans in case it occurs.
Additionally, fully 63% of plastics companies are expecting Brexit to cause significant disruption to their supply chain. Meanwhile, a total of 17% of respondents did not believe such an outcome would have any effect on their business..
The survey also highlighted that a number of wide ranging topics connected with Brexit were making business owners concerned or very concerned. Topping the list were:
'Brexit remains a deeply divisive issue to this day. But this data shows our industry would clearly prefer to stick with EU regulations. It indicates that the benefits of Brexit – from a plastics manufacturer’s or recycler’s perspective – are hard to see,' said president of the BPF’s Brexit taskforce Mike Boswell.
The UK is set to exit the European Union on 29 March. By that date the UK parliament and a number of other legislative bodies within EU Nations must approve an exit agreement. If they cannot reach a deal, then the UK will leave and will have to use World Trade Organisation tariffs for goods that it imports and exports. These vary considerably from those the UK now enjoys with the EU. Additionally, neither the UK nor the EU would recognise each others' regulations, or standards if a no-deal Brexit occurs.
