The UK business secretary, Greg Clark, has said that the British government will extend the same assurances to other car manufacturers that it extended to Nissan, promising tariff-free access to Europe.
On Thursday, Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn announced that the Japanese company will officially stay in the UK post-Brexit, after receiving “support and assurances from the UK government”.
It’s not understood that the government promised Nissan that it would seek free access to the EU market, and Mr Clark has said that he’s offered similar promises to other manufacturers.
Four specific promises to carmakers
Speaking on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show, he said: “The automotive sector is one of our great strengths. We want to see the whole industry prosper.”
Mr Clark said that the government specifically promised four things: funding for training, funding to boost UK electric car research, a promise to increase the use of British companies in the manufacturer’s supply chain and the promise to seek free access to the EU.
Other British industries, including the pharmaceutical industry, are now expected to be demanding similar terms and asking for written confirmation that their exports will be exempt from tariffs.
Are good intentions alone good enough?
However, whether or not the government will be able to negotiate tariff-free access to the EU after Brexit remains to be seen, with strong opposition from countries like France.
Labour has renewed calls for the government to release the full specifics of what was promised to Nissan, with shadow business secretary Clive Lewis stating it was hard to believe Nissan was convinced “on good intentions alone”.
