The Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy Committee has today launched
an inquiry on the
implications of leaving the European Union for British business.
The Committee’s inquiry will work on a sectoral basis, including
sectors such as civil nuclear, automotive, and aerospace sectors,
with evidence sessions taking place both in and outside
Westminster. The Committee aims to establish how the interests of
different sectors should best be pursued both in the negotiating
process and post-Brexit and attempts to examine a range of issues
relating to market access, non-tariff barriers, regulation, skills,
R&D, trade opportunities and transitional arrangements.
The Committee will start by looking at the civil nuclear sector,
including membership of Euratom. It will then look at the
following sectors:
- Automotive
- Aerospace
- Processed food and drink
- Pharmaceuticals
MP, Chair of the Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said: “Brexit
represents the biggest change for British business in the last 40
years. I want Brexit to work for business. It’s vital that the
voices of employers and employees are clearly heard during the
negotiating process; and that the Government listens. The
extent of challenges will vary from sector to sector, but the
same issues will need to be addressed. In taking a sector by
sector approach, we want to inform public debate about the
potential impact of Brexit and ensure that the Government is
promoting the country’s economic interests across the board as
negotiations proceed.”
The Committee is inviting written evidence from each sector on
the following questions:
1. Market
access: how important is free access to the Single
Market? What would be the impact of trading with the EU under WTO
rules and tariffs? How significant are tariffs compared to other
costs?
2. Non-tariff
barriers: how significant are non-tariff barriers
potentially arising from leaving the Single Market and Customs
Union? What are the most significant ones? How best could impacts
be mitigated?
3. Regulation:
what are the opportunities and potential disadvantages of seeking
regulatory divergence from EU product, safety and other
standards? To what extent should the UK seek to retain influence
on these standards? Is it preferable for the UK to: establish an
EU association agreement (or equivalent); replicate EU
regulation; diverge from EU rules and standards? What dispute
resolution processes would be most desirable? Should the UK seek
to align professional qualifications with those in the EU?
4. Skills:
how dependent is the sector on workers from EU countries, at all
skill levels? What is the potential impact of restrictions on
freedom of movement? How far can gaps be filled by UK workers?
5. R&D:
How significant are EU-dependent R&D activities within the
sector’s broader research landscape? What R&D collaboration,
funding and access to facilities and resources is the UK in
danger of losing as a result of Brexit? How can future
collaboration, funding and resource/facility access with EU
countries be best secured? How can the UK best retain
influence in EU and international research programmes?
6. Trade
opportunities: what opportunities are there for the UK
to improve exports to countries outside the EU? Where should
Government the Government seek to prioritise in terms of trade
deals?
7. Transitional
arrangements: what should the UK seek in transitional
arrangements and for how long should they apply?
Notes to Editors:
1. The Committee received written evidence on Euratom as part of
its inquiry, Leaving the EU:
negotiation priorities for energy and climate change policy.
For the purpose of additional evidence, the above questions
should be interpreted as follows:
- · ‘EU’
refers to the EU and Euratom;
-
· ‘Single
Market’ refers to the Single Market and the Nuclear Common
Market;
- · For
question 2, we would also welcome responses on barriers arising
from leaving EU Dual-Use Regulation.
2. Deadlines for written evidence from other sectors are as
follows:
Civil nuclear sector: Wednesday 4 October 2017.
Automotive: Wednesday 4 October 2017.
Aerospace: Wednesday 18 October 2017
Processed food and drink: Tuesday 31 October 2017. NB This does
not include the agri-food or the farming sector, which is the
subject of a separate inquiry by the
EFRA Committee.
Pharmaceuticals: Tuesday 7 November 2017
The new members of the BEIS Committee are:
MP (Chair) (Lab, Leeds West)
(SNP, Inverness, Nairn,
Badenoch and Strathspey) MP (Con, Stirling) MP (Lab, Hove) Mr MP (Con,
Bridgwater and West Somerset) MP (Con, Redditch) MP (Lab, Ynys Môn) MP (Con, Rugby) MP (Con, Eddisbury)
MP (Lab, Redcar)
