British business leaders have welcomed the last commercial agreement after Brexit of the United Kingdom with the EU, qualifying it from a vital step towards the restoration of commercial stability, while warning the key challenges that are coming, partially around the regulatory and future sober.
The agreement, seen as a restart in the United Kingdom-EU relationship, includes the elimination of many border controls from British food exports and the steps towards greater collaboration in energy markets, tourism and youth mobility.
The British retail consortium (BRC) praised the agreement, especially its provisions to relieve the trade of perishable goods. Helen Dickinson, executive director of the BRC, urged the United Kingdom government to consider a closer alignment with the EU Environmental and Products Standards, saying that this would further reduce friction and benefits exporters.
Similarly, the hospitality and tourism sectors supported the inclusion of the agreement of a “youth experience scheme” to propose, which could allow young people to live and work more freely on the continent, a key issue after Brexit.
“This is a very welcome step,” said Ukinbound, representing the incoming tourism sector. But the group added a precautionary note: “The devil is in the details.”
Kate Nicholls, CEO or hospitality of the United Kingdom, requested maximum flexibility in the scheme, suggesting that the United Kingdom “reflects the existing agreements with Australia and New Zealand.”
Although it supports commercial progress, the National Farmers Union (NFU) warned against excessive “dynamic alignment”, the mechanism under what the United Kingdom would commit to stay synchronized with future EU rules.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the NFU, highlighted areas where the United Kingdom must retain regulatory independence, such as gene edition in agriculture.
“The complete dynamic alignment has a significant cost of committing to future EU rules in which the United Kingdom will have little,” Bradshaw said.
He emphasized the need for “equivalence” on “harmonization”, to protect both innovation and competitiveness in the agriculture of the United Kingdom.
The energy sector reacted the commitment of the agreement to explore the re -entry into the EU internal energy market, from which the United Kingdom was previously excluded after Brexit.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, CEO of SSE, welcomed a closer integration, saying that it could reduce energy costs and improve the global competitiveness of the United Kingdom.
The Executive Director of Energy UK, Dhara Vyas, described the agreement as a “change of step” in the relationship between the United Kingdom and its closest commercial partner.
“The energy industry has long asked for a closer collaboration on carbon prices and electricity trade,” he said.
Although opinions differ closely in the United Kingdom if it reflects the regulation of the EU, the general reaction of the industry has been cautious optimism.
Rain Newton-Smith, Executive Director of the Confederation of the British Industry (CBI), said: “Companies do not need more politics, they need progress. This agreement allows companies on both sides Brathe Unan relief with cooperation, improve, and Pampertce, and Pampertce, and ProfescecececececececececececececececececececcececeSCeSCECECTATSCETATSCETATATESCETCTATESE to improve the objectives of mutual net.
With the intersectoral support for pragmatic progress and friction reduction, the agreement is widely seen as a turning point in later relationships to Brexit UK-EU. But as future negotiations develop, especially around dynamic alignment, the Government will face increasing pressure to balance economic opportunities with regulatory free.
Jamie Young
Jamie is a senior reporter of Business Matters, who brings more than a decade of experience in commercial reports of the United Kingdom. Jamie has a business administration title and participates regularly in conferences and industry workshops. When he does not inform about the last business development, Jamie is passionate about the mentoring of promising journalists and businessmen to inspire the next generation of business leaders.
