Nissan pledge revs up optimism for post-Brexit trade
THE 2016 Referendum campaign represented a golden opportunity for the Remainers to set out a positive case for rule by the European Union. But they ducked the challenge, unable to defend publicly the undemocratic empire they worshipped or the federalist ideology they followed.
Instead, through Project Fear they warned that a vote for Leave would immediately plunge Brexit Britain into recession, complete with soaring unemployment and the exodus of major companies.
Yet Armageddon was postponed as the economy continued to grow before Covid-19 struck last year.
Now comes another powerful blow to their narrative of doom. A key symbol of Project Fear was the huge, highly-productive Nissan plant in Sunderland, whose future was said to be threatened if Britain embraced Brexit. According to the scaremongers, the end of EU membership could sound its death knell.
“If we leave, Nissan leaves,” tweeted Alastair Campbell, the former Labour spin doctor in 2019 as he kept up his campaign for the Referendum result to be overturned.
BUT, last week, Nissan announced that the post-Brexit future of its Sunderland base, the largest car factory in Britain, is secure in the long term. Not only will the company proceed with a new electric model in the North-East, but it will also move its battery manufacturing operation close to the plant.
As a result, the jobs of 6,000 workers at the Nissan factory, as well as an estimated 70,000 in the supply chain, now look safe. Indeed, the new investment is likely to bring a significant expansion in the workforce.
All this makes a mockery of the Remainers’ gospel of looming catastrophe. Far from damaging car production, our independence brings real benefits, as Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s Chief Operating Officer, made clear. “Brexit gives us the competitive advantage not only within the United Kingdom but outside it also,” he said.
Mr Gupta also had words of praise for the trade agreement Boris Johnson negotiated just before Christmas: “The Brexit deal is positive for Nissan. Being the largest auto-maker in the UK, we are taking this opportunity to redefine automaking in the UK.”
His optimism reflects economic reality. Britain is not the isolated country in decline that the Remainers pretend. We are a major player on the global stage, with a vibrant consumer market, low corporate taxes, an attachment to free enterprise, and a tradition of innovation.
Our international clout is highlighted by more than 60 post-Brexit trade deals that the Government has already concluded. But it is precisely our “competitive advantage” – to use Mr Gupta’s phrase – which so terrifies the sclerotic EU. Eager both to punish Britain and undermine Brexit, some of its officials have resorted to hampering Britain’s exports to Europe through excessive red tape.
In sectors from fashion to food, businesses now complain of holdups and additional costs because of bureaucracy. The problem is particularly acute in the fish trade, where delays mean stock can quickly end up worthless. “There are fish markets in Cornwall that have got a single load to France this week,” said John Lucy of the Road Haulage Association.
Northern Ireland, because of its special status inside the customs union, is also suffering, with several firms admitting to “incredible frustration” at the border. Some of the actions by EU officialdom are petty. One consignment of 2,000 boxes of Scottish fish was turned away because it had labels reading “UK” rather than “GB”.
Another lorry was held up because the full-stop on its forms had been misplaced. A driver arriving in Holland from the UK had his cheese-and-ham sandwich confiscated for containing “undeclared British foodstuffs”.
SUCH problems should not be exaggerated. Once traders gain more experience of the new environment, many will disappear. In fact, Mr Gupta of Nissan, used to operating in the global market, describes the extra documentation as “nothing”.
Nevertheless, the Government must get a grip on the regulation, particularly as it affects smaller businesses. That means providing financial help and advice, as well as grace periods for traders to acclimatise to the new arrangements. It also means standing up to the EU.
Under the World Trade Organisation rules, it is illegal to erect unnecessary barriers to the free flow of goods.
Brexit was meant to limit EU bureaucracy, not enhance its influence.
‘Brexit gives us an advantage both inside and outside the UK’