Lobby group warns that EU trade is not working for UK businesses

The head of Britain’s biggest business organization has warned that the next UK government should stop “walking around on eggshells” when it comes to improving EU trade relations.

Shevaun Haivland, the director-general of British Chambers of Commerce urged on Thursday the winner of the election next week to intensify the current EU-UK deal for trade and cooperation in order to boost the economy.

We must stop being so timid and start telling it like it is. She said that the current plan was not working for members at the annual international conference of the group in London.

Haviland intervened as polls showed that Labour was on course to win a majority on the 4th of July on a platform which promises to lift Britain from a decade-long economic stagnation.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the fiscal watchdog has stated that Brexit is expected to cause a long-term hit of 4 percent on UK GDP and a 15% reduction in UK trade.

The London School of Economics published an analysis this month that found 20,000 small business had stopped exporting into the EU due to red tape caused by the UK leaving the single market.

The BCC has released a manifesto, which calls for several measures to improve EU/UK trade. The BCC has published a trade manifesto that calls for a series of measures to improve EU-UK trade.

Haviland stated that the BCC is ready to work with a new government on a strategy for long-term trade. After six weeks of campaigning, the businesses will look at who is going to keep their promises after the next election.

Labour has been cautious in its plans to reduce the cost of Brexit. This was backed strongly by voters in seats “red walls” in the north of England, that it hopes will be reclaimed from the Conservatives.

In its election manifesto, the main opposition party ruled out any return to a single EU market or customs union while promising to improve relations by “tearing down unnecessarily barriers to trade”.

Labour’s only concrete proposals are an agreement on veterinary matters with Brussels, which will help to export food and plants, a deal on visas for musicians who tour, and better terms for professionals like engineers and architects.

This month, UK in a Changing Europe (a think tank) said that Labour’s plans would only have a “minimal” impact on reducing economic costs associated with Brexit.

Starmer’s Party has tried to downplay accusations made by the Tories, that if it is elected, it would seek to reverse Brexit. Both sides clashed on this subject in a televised debate on election day.

Jonathan Reynolds, shadow business secretary, said that it was “ridiculous”, to claim Brexit has not affected UK trade. He said that the biggest change a Labour-led government would bring was the fact that our relationship with the European Union wouldn’t be dictated by the politics of the Conservative Party.

Reynolds said he would like to see food and agricultural checks reduced, but he declined to confirm whether Labour was willing to accept the European Court of Justice’s role in any veterinary agreement. He added that “we are not going to give our negotiation hand away”.

Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary of the Conservative Party, countered by saying that the Conservatives already attempted to secure a deal on veterinary medicine and that Labour’s plan to restart talks would “just be taking us back to the EU without stating so”.