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Business, food and agriculture leaders have implored Boris Johnson to rule out a no-deal exit from the EU, saying it would be “catastrophic” for jobs, supermarket supply chains and agriculture.
The food industry said it was “crazy” that UK companies did not know what the trading conditions would be in 12 working days.
Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, said the threat of tariffs “was not a trivial thing” and that if the UK left the EU without a trade deal on January 1, consumers could expect to see increases. prices of between 5% and 15% in supermarkets since mid-January.
“I know that some of our members plan to send new portfolio price lists to their clients this week to account for fees,” he said. “Obviously they are conditional and they assume that there is no agreement and that the tariff regime enters in January. Tariff-driven price increases would start to appear in mid-to-late January, as obviously anything that’s already in the country by January 1 will not attract a tariff. ”
The UK imports around 30% of its food from the EU, and 85% of food imported from the EU would face tariffs, although the government could choose to delay their imposition through legislation.
In a no-deal scenario, 13,000 products would attract import duties, but tariffs are known to be higher in agri-food; for example, a 50% tax on cheddar cheese, 35% on boneless pork and 45% on wheat flour.
Environment Secretary George Eustice recently said that tariffs were not the main driver of food prices. He said the average shopping basket could cost more, but the increase would be less than that predicted by Tesco, which put the increases at 3% to 5% last week.
The British Retail Consortium has asked consumers not to “panic shop” after reports that the government had told supermarkets to make reservations for Brexit. One insider said that if that were true, it was “an insult” to an industry that had kept the country on food supplies during the pandemic.
“Supermarkets know what they are doing,” they said. “They have had no-deal contingencies for two years and they don’t rely on out-of-touch politicians for outdated advice.”
The auto industry has said no deal would be catastrophic and implored the government to remove it from the table. The production plans face a double impact of new controls and controls in the ports that delay the deliveries of parts and tariffs of 10% that make exports uncompetitive.
Mike Hawes, Director of the Society of Engine Manufacturers and Dealers, said: “We welcome the commitment of both parties to keep talking and find a way to overcome the political impasse. We now need negotiators to finish the job and agree on the deal we all so desperately need, without further delay. No deal would be anything less than catastrophic for the auto industry, its workers, and their families, and would represent a staggering failure of statecraft. You just have to discard it. ”
Former Labor Party leader Ed Miliband accused Johnson of playing “Russian roulette” with people’s jobs, saying it was a “disgraceful” that he was contemplating Britain leaving the EU without a deal.
An industry leader expressed despair over what they felt was the disconnect between Johnson and business reality. “Either you don’t know or you don’t care. I suspect both, ”they said.
The British and French port and Eurotunnel representatives have said they expect the observed congestion on roads in Kent and the northern Haut-de-France region to continue for the next three weeks and then decrease in January, with many importers planning to cut deliveries due to the threat of delays immediately after January 1.
Over the weekend it became known that there were 10-mile setbacks in Calais, causing delays of five hours. Local leaders were expected to respond to public concerns at a press conference on Monday.
Rod McKenzie, Policy Director for the Road Haulage Association, said the organization had anecdotal evidence that some EU-national drivers, who dominate the business, would “not bother” to drive in the UK in the new year in case that there was no agreement. chaos.
Honda and Jaguar have halted production due to disruption of their “just in time” and “just in sequence” production lines caused by congestion at ports.
Welsh sheep farmers have said they face elimination because the tariffs are so high they would prohibit competitive exports.
Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts, whose supporters, including many in the Snowdonia farming community and surrounding areas, said Johnson was “playing fast and loose with people’s jobs” and asked him to come to a agreement with the EU.
