Paris (AFP)
The European auto industry warned on Monday that a failure of negotiations on a post-Brexit deal between the EU and the UK would inflict a fall in trade of 110 billion euros over five years on a sector already hit by the health crisis.
A total of 23 automotive industry organizations in Europe together called on Monday "the EU and the UK to secure an ambitious free trade agreement without delay," in a joint statement.
This call comes at the end of a week of intense friction between London and Brussels which raises fears of a failure of negotiations, fifteen weeks before the end of the Brexit transition period set for December 31.
If this fails, the estimated commercial loss of 110 billion euros over five years by 2025 would be added to around 100 billion euros of production loss already inflicted this year on the industry by the coronavirus pandemic. .
It would be a threat to a sector which represents a total of 14.6 million British and European jobs, or one in 15 jobs in the region, warn the signatories, including in particular the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA ) as well as the main national organizations, such as the CCFA in France, the VDA in Germany or the SMMT in the United Kingdom.
"Economies and jobs on both sides of the Channel are under threat of a second devastating blow in the form of no deal," they warn.
In the absence of a trade agreement, the EU and the UK would be forced to trade under WTO rules which provide for 10% customs taxes on cars and up to 22% on vans and trucks.
"Such taxes, much higher than the small margins of most manufacturers, should certainly be passed on to consumers, making vehicles more expensive, reducing choice and affecting demand," say the signatory organizations, in their press release. .
The UK and the EU were producing at the rate of 18.5 million vehicles per year before the crisis.
This year, the industry estimates that 3.6 million units have already been lost due to the pandemic.
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