Now is the time to strike an EU deal - Beckie Hart

After a brief hiatus, Brexit returned to the front pages in dramatic fashion. But for all the sound and fury, the negotiations continue.

Both sides say a deal is their preferred outcome. Businesses across our region share this view. A negotiated outcome is vital for our economic recovery.

While July’s GDP figures were encouraging, we are only halfway up the mountain on the path back to recovery.

And the hardest yards are yet to come. A messy end to a turbulent year would hold back the recovery and impede businesses’ ability to protect jobs and invest in future growth.

Despite unprecedented levels of government intervention, we know that firms are still grappling with severe cashflow concerns, vital packages of support are ending, and previously deferred payments are now looming ever larger into view.

That’s why the CBI is urging the Government to extend lending facilities such as the business interruption loans, introduce further targeted support on business rates, and defer second quarter VAT payments to ease the burden.

Alongside these cashflow support measures, a successor – not replacement – to the furlough scheme is needed to help minimise the rise in unemployment. Any new scheme should not support jobs that were never going to return but adopt a more targeted approach for companies most in need.

Taken together, these steps can help the economy’s return to its pre-pandemic peak. Over the last six months, we’ve seen extraordinary levels of ambition, determination and collaboration between business and government. These efforts have helped weather the immediate impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and must be redoubled for challenges that lie ahead.

This same level of determination and creativity is now needed by both the EU and the UK to deliver a Brexit deal for growth.

From speaking to firms across Yorkshire and the Humber, it is inescapable that Covid-19 has dramatically diminished their ability to prepare for a no deal scenario.

On the other hand, a deal would be a springboard for growth which would help build the strongest possible foundation for future success as the economy recovers from the pandemic.

A free trade area with zero tariffs and quotas would help minimise red tape, border bureaucracy and increased costs, and allow firms to focus on jobs, growth and innovation. A deal on services, which make up 80 per cent of the UK’s economy, would keep our world-beating services industry competitive.

Most importantly, a deal will also allow enable the country to move on and concentrate on the generation-defining challenges before us. That means building more schools and hospitals, better quality housing, and growing our economy through the creation of green jobs.

In short, the size of the prize is real. Ending years of division and delay by securing an agreement with the EU will help our economy during the biggest challenge of our generation.

Through their investment, innovation and job creation,

British firms are committed to building the strongest possible economy for the UK outside of the EU. Now is the time to strike a deal with the EU that lets them do it.

By Beckie Hart, Regional Director, Yorkshire and the Humber, CBI