What Wales sees as the threats and opportunities of Brexit

Whether you voted to remain or to leave, there’s no denying that Brexit will have a massive impact on nearly every aspect of life in Wales.

As negotiations in Brussels continue and details on exactly what a postBrexit UK will look like are thrashed out by officials, various companies and organisations across Wales have had their say on what they want to see.

From farming to aerospace and higher education to shipping, a variety of sectors will be directly affected for better or worse, depending on what deal Theresa May and her team return to Westminster with.

The aerospace industry in Wales employs more than 23,000 people spread across more than 160 companies.

Facilities across the country build and maintain aircraft from around the world and employ people from across the EU.

The Aerospace Wales Forum, the trade group for all companies in the aerospace, defence and space sectors in Wales, said: “By the very nature of the sector, our member companies operate in a global environment. And key to that has been the unrestricted movement of EU labour.

“The aerospace sector is reliant on the ability to move its workforce, often at short notice, to work on both minor and major projects, resolving technical issues and supporting UK infrastructure and installation programmes.

“If UK employees aren’t able to travel at short notice as a result of Brexit then work packages could transition to non-UK employees.”

They added that a post-Brexit Wales and UK need to have access and influence in the regulatory regime operated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, access to the EU Single Market without “burdensome” customs administration or rules of origin and other EU programmes.

The body pointed to the almost 600 EU nationals Airbus, which operates a large plant in Broughton, Flintshire, employs across the UK.

An Airbus spokesman said that its UK sites are “among the most efficient and competitive” in Airbus and that Britain is an “indispensable” part of the European aerospace industry.

While thousands build parts to transport people across the world on their holidays, thousands make their way to Wales and contribute millions to the tourism industry.

The movement of people and goods from the continent to Wales will have a big impact on all areas of the economy including tourism.

The Wales Tourism Alliance (WTA) said that if the UK does not stay in the customs union, a type of trade agreement to not impose tariffs on goods, it would have a “significant” impact on the industry.

It added that hotels, pubs and restaurants in the UK source around 50% of their products from the EU.

WTA chair Adrian Barsby said: “EU nationals play an important part in the industry in Wales and they will continue to be needed.

“The WTA urges that their continued right to remain be confirmed at the earliest possible stage of the Brexit negotiations.”

Mr Barsby also called for EU funded programmes such as Erasmus, an exchange programme, to be “carefully considered”.

The body representing universities across Wales also called for continued access to such programmes, and stated how EU staff contribute to the higher education sector.

A spokesperson for Universities Wales said: “EU staff contribute enormously to the excellent research, teaching and professional services at universities, and if they are to thrive following our exit from the EU, it is essential both staff and students from across the world can come to the UK without unnecessary administrative burdens.”

The logistics sector also expressed concern about further administration costs, and one group warned that some changes could “devastate” the country.

Head of Policy for Wales at the Freight Transport Association (FTA) Ian Gallagher said: “The reality is that at the moment we are still a little bit in the dark. We need to remain part of the Customs Union and quite frankly part of the single market.”

Mr Gallagher said that as the industry does not know what the final outcome will look like it is “situation nor- mal” but he remains concerned.

He said: “Our industry is heavily reliant on the EU workforce and there’s concern about what it could look like following the deal.”

Latest available figures from the Welsh Government show that UK registered heavy goods vehicles carry 400,000 tonnes of exports to destinations outside the UK, including the Republic of Ireland (ROI).

Mr Gallagher said that Wales could be severely affected by the border situation in Northern Ireland and the ROI. If a hard border was implemented then Wales could be “devastated” due to goods circumnavigating Wales all together and heading direct to mainland Europe.

Industry estimates show that the number of HGVs transiting through Holyhead rose by around 4,000 to 392,000 per year between 1992 and 2015, representing around half of all goods vehicles moving between Dublin/Rosslare and the English and Welsh ports.

He added: “Approximately 55 million tonnes of trade travelled through Welsh ports in 2015 and any delays caused by inadequate customs provision could be catastrophic for the businesses on both side of the Irish sea which rely on this transport link.”

Brexit decisions could also have an impact on smaller firms. Based in Cardiff, TrakCel provides software that helps streamline cell and gene therapy work and has seen benefits from Brexit but faces concerns for the future. A TrakCel spokesman said that the decrease in the value of the pound following the referendum reduced the cost of their software for customers outside of the UK. The drop was a “boon” for the firm. However, the type of deal agreed with EU partners could still have an impact on the company.