Brexit: EU suppliers wary about doing business in UK, warn manufacturers

theguardian.com:

Business leaders say frayed relations with the EU are costing the British economy, as suppliers in the bloc grow more cautious about doing business with post-Brexit Britain.

Adding to the pressure on Rishi Sunak’s government as bosses warn that the UK is falling behind its peers, the manufacturers’ group Make UK called for an urgent reset of political and trading relationships with the EU.

The trade body said almost half of UK manufacturers in a survey of more than 100 leading industrial companies said their EU suppliers had grown more cautious about doing business in Britain.

It also said a fraught post-Brexit relationship could have a damaging impact on trade ties elsewhere around the world, amid signs that companies from farther afield have also grown more cautious about supplying into the UK.

In a speech at its national manufacturing conference in London on Tuesday, the chief executive of Make UK, Stephen Phipson, will argue that the report underlines the need to build stronger relations with the EU after Brexit.

Calling on the government to make further progress after the “Windsor framework” deal on post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland, he will say: “We need to reset our political and trading relationship with the EU which has been marked by such rancour.

“I want to applaud the positive approach taken by the prime minister which shows what can be achieved when you work pragmatically and collaboratively, rather than thumping the table or issuing threats. Hopefully the agreement reached last week will be the beginning of a new chapter.”

Earlier this year, Make UK said more than 40% of manufacturers thought the political chaos of the last year had damaged the image of the UK as a place for foreign direct investment.

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