British and European Trade bodies call for UK Government and EU to return the negotiating table to avoid no deal Brexit

Posted on 21 Oct 2020 by Tom Lane

Make UK makes a joint statement with CEEMET, its sister organisation in Europe whose members are the national employers’ organisations and federations, representing 200,000 companies across the whole of Europe and providing employment for 35 million people urging the UK and Europe to avoid a No Deal Brexit.

Make UK and CEEMET have today called upon the British Government and European Commission to return the negotiating table to avoid a no deal Brexit.

The Covid crisis has had an incredibly damaging impact across the UK and Europe. As a consequence, manufacturers the continent over are struggling to fully prepare for the changes that are coming in January.

The statement highlights that businesses in the UK and Europe are united in the view that they are not and cannot be ready for the disruption of a no deal Brexit scenario.

The three key points Make UK and CEEMAT are:

  1. Get back to the negotiating table
  2. Ensure that we avoid the disaster of an exit without a deal
  3. Work to ensure that we achieve the best deal possible avoiding tariffs, simplifying rules of origin and minimising red tape and bureaucracy at the border

CROP - And four in ten (43%) said Brexit would have a positive impact on their business - image courtesy of Depositphotos.
Image courtesy of Depositphotos.

The full statement reads:

“While UK manufacturing is slowly recovering from the ongoing COVID crisis, essential to that recovery is the seamless operation of supply chains and the modern marvel of just-in-time logistics.

A no-deal scenario with our most critical trading partner, the EU, would be disastrous for manufacturing and for the millions more employed in supporting industries both here in the UK and across the EU.

The impacts would go far beyond disruptions in trade at the border. Families and communities would be left hanging in the balance, affecting real people who need the well-paid jobs that manufacturing provides alongside its contribution of almost half of Britain’s global exports.

Manufacturing and engineering companies employ 2.7 million in every constituency up and down the UK and many millions more across the whole of Europe. Their products power our lives – the cars we drive, the technology behind our schools and hospitals, even the meals we consume. Britain is a leading exporter of innovation, product and technical skills which are playing a critical part in boosting efforts to lead our economic recovery and the same can be said for many of the great manufacturing nations across Europe.”

Signatories below

  • Stephen Phipson CBE, CEO Make UK
  • Oliver Zander, Chairman, Ceemet
  • Paul Sheerin, CEO Scottish Engineering
  • Stephen Kelly, CEO Manufacturing NI
  • Peter Bloch, Director EEF NI

Make UK members:

  • Peter Davies, Chief Executive, James Lister
  • Rowan Crozier, CEO, Brandauer
  • Matthias Meyer, Managing Director, Heller Machine Tools
  • John Taylor, Chief Executive, SG Technologies
  • Helen Doughty, Director, SHD Composite Materials
  • George Wright, Managing Director, M Wright & Sons Ltd
  • Fiona Ellis-Winkfield, Managing Director, Gordon Winkfield
  • Andrea Wilson, Director, Hone-all
  • Austen Adams, Director, Avingtrans
  • Raymond Oliver, Managing Director, Sone Products
  • David Mitchell, Managing Director, Katmex Ltd
  • Leanne Holmes, Managing Director, Crane Payment Innovations
  • Peter Morris, Vice President, Finance & Global Supply Chain, Transcontinental Advanced Coatings
  • Barry Leahey, Managing Director, Playdale Playgrounds
  • Adrian May, Commercial Manager, Presspart Manufacturing Ltd
  • Mark Lord, Managing Director, Aztec Oils
  • Robert Pickersgill, Managing Director, W Hallam Castings
  • James Tear, Managing Director, Thessco Ltd
  • Brian Reece, CEO & Managing Director, Sheffield Precision Medical
  • James Greenham, Managing Director, EMS Physio
  • Tom McMurtrie, Managing Director, Hymid Multi Shot Ltd
  • David O’Hare, Managing Director, Clwyd Compounders
  • Robert Munro, Operations Director, Denis Ferranti Group
  • Mike Evans, Managing Director, EBS Automation Ltd
  • Gavin Peters, CEO-UK, Tri-Wall UK
  • Stephen Jones, Managing Director, Altron Communications Equipment Ltd
  • Neil Gregory, Director, G.O.S. Tool & Engineering Services Ltd
  • Peter Morris, VP Finance & Global Supply Chain, Transcontinental Advanced Coatings
  • Paul Crutcher, Operations Director, Bisley
  • Almero Barnard, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Jellagen Marine Biotechnologies
  • Andrew Churchill, Director, JJ Churchill
  • Mike Hague Morgan, Co-Owner & Commercial Director, Autocraft Drivetrain
  • Stuart Johnson, Director, Rutland Plastics
  • Simon Beech, COO, Naysmyth Group
  • Chris Perry, Managing Director, Timberwolf
  • Darren Joint, Managing Director, Viking Signs
  • Richard Herbert, Executive Chairman, Herbert Group

Make UK affiliate and partner organisations:

  • Vanda Jones, Executive Director, British Compressed Air Society
  • Sue Halliwell, Operations Manager, Composites UK
  • Peter Hunt, COO, Lighting Industry Association
  • Steve Brambley, Chief Executive, GAMBICA
  • Geraldine Bolton, Chief Executive, Confederation of British Metalforming
  • David Harrison, Chief Operating Officer, PPMA, BARA & UKIVA
  • Julia Moore, Chief Executive, GTMA
  • Charles Byrne, Technical Director, Graham Hart Process Technology
  • Dr Andrew Mair, Chief Executive, Midlands Aerospace Alliance
  • Tom Bowtell, CEO, British Coatings Federation
  • Robert Fell, Director and Chief Executive, Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association
  • Steve Schofield, Director & Chief Executive, British Pump Manufacturers Association
  • Martin Maley, Director General, NASS
  • André González De Savage, Chief Executive, British Enterprise Partnership
  • Diana Taylor, Managing Director, Marketing Humber
  • Keith Warren, Chief Executive, Foodservice Equipment Association
  • James Selka, CEO, MTA
  • Philip Law, Director General, BPF
  • Rob Oliver, Chief Executive, CEA
  • Richard Fallon, CEO, The Technology Supply Chain
  • Andrew Kinniburgh, DG, NDI
  • Nick Mellor, Managing Director, LEIA