LONDON: Britain’s aerospace exporters will warn parliament on Monday of a crippling £1.5bn-a-year headwind if ministers fail to agree urgent new customs and regulatory deals with the EU.
Adding to pressure for the government to come clean about its long-term Brexit strategy, the industry will also provide written evidence to the Commons business select committee that the uncertainty is already forcing it to look at moving jobs abroad.
A letter to the committee from Boeing says the industry needs clarity by the “first quarter of next year at the latest” or business and consumer interests across Europe will suffer.
“Around £10bn of the aerospace sector’s annual exports are destined for the EU,” writes ADS, a trade group that represents more than 1,000 UK businesses. “However, increased checks at the border [if customs processes do not remain harmonised] could result in a potential £1.5bn of added costs for the UK aerospace sector.”
It follows similar warnings last week from car manufacturers, who said that the return of customs barriers would devastate their delicate, just-in-time supply chains. Honda UK told MPs it relies on 350 lorries a day being able to make smooth passage across the English Channel to supply about 2m daily components to its Swindon factory, with just an hour’s worth of supply to spare.
The aerospace industry is expected to go one step further when it provides evidence to the committeeon Tuesday, pointing out that the Airbus A380, for example, has some 4m components produced by 1,500 companies from 30 countries, with many parts crossing borders multiple times. The industry claims it has a similar reliance on just-in-time, lean manufacturing techniques.
