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I guess Brexit is a great blame if you want to close a factory. Even-though, after-Brexit UK won't be part of the EU. A UK factory will export cars to the EU w

by imeron 7y ago

I guess Brexit is a great blame if you want to close a factory. Even-though, after-Brexit UK won't be part of the EU. A UK factory will export cars to the EU with mandatory customs fee and taxes. If your cars have to clear customs anyway why not build them in Ukraine?

tonyedgecombe 7y ago
Actually I think most companies are going out of their way to avoid blaming Brexit. No point in alienating 52% of the UK market even if it is the case.
benj111 7y ago
If you look at the case of Japan, they've just signed a free trade agreement with the EU, so at the same time barriers are going down there, barriers are going up in the UK. Given that the Japanese car companies only came to the UK to access the single market, why would they stay now that Japan is 'closer'?
toyg 7y ago
Most of the companies actually don't mention Brexit in public communications, because they are trying to avoid alienating the government (as much as half their UK customers). They were hoping to have the public purse cover their trouble and continue with business as usual. In the end, only Jaguar-LandRover (arguably the more "British" manufacturer) seems to have partially managed to pull that off with a 500m loan; everyone else (even Nissan, who supposedly got some guarantees in writing from the previous administration) decided it's not worth the trouble and is in the process of slowly divesting.
Zenst 7y ago
Indeed, brexit (though America don't call independence day Amexit!) for many hasn't happened and what we have is a case of still being in the EU and many trying to chuck everything in the way to keep us there. So really it's more how the leave process is being derailed left and left-again, that has and does cause the issue. After all, until it happens, everything is based upon perception and pushing a doom picture utterly suits those who wish to not leave the EU. Put another way, nobody blamed joining the EU for the demise of way more manufacturing and indeed the coal industry. Yet that is what happened. Cheaper EU coal imports, then eventual erosion of manufacturing bit by bit. But that gets overlooked oddly enough. Still the UK shifted from manufacturing to services, albeit many EU trade deals and indeed their own members, kinda fall foul in how they handle services with the EU actually looking at punishing members for not opening up their services market. But in fairness, whilst the EU is not perfect - nothing is perfect.
- blaser-waffle 7y ago
  > Indeed, brexit (though America don't call independence day Amexit!) The US never voted to leave the EU; they were never part of the EU, and openly fought against the French in the 7 Years War. The US voted to leave the British Empire -- and fought a war for it (with some French help later, of course). Nearest I can tell Brexit is a confluence of UK Conservatives and foreign interests spreading Agi-Prop to A) enrich themselves at the expense of the UK as a whole, B) to split the UK from the EU in a geo-political sense, and C) to, in all likelihood, crush the UK economy. > Put another way, nobody blamed joining the EU for the demise of way more manufacturing and indeed the coal industry. Yet that is what happened. Cheaper EU coal imports, then eventual erosion of manufacturing bit by bit. But that gets overlooked oddly enough. Coal was on the way out regardless of European integration. The US was never in the EU and coal still vanished; Donald Trump pandering to the coal industry is not and will not bring it back. Likewise, staying out of the EU would have been, at best, a temporary stay of execution for the UK coal industry.

by imeron 7y ago

tonyedgecombe 7y ago

Actually I think most companies are going out of their way to avoid blaming Brexit. No point in alienating 52% of the UK market even if it is the case.

benj111 7y ago

If you look at the case of Japan, they've just signed a free trade agreement with the EU, so at the same time barriers are going down there, barriers are going up in the UK. Given that the Japanese car companies only came to the UK to access the single market, why would they stay now that Japan is 'closer'?

toyg 7y ago

Most of the companies actually don't mention Brexit in public communications, because they are trying to avoid alienating the government (as much as half their UK customers). They were hoping to have the public purse cover their trouble and continue with business as usual. In the end, only Jaguar-LandRover (arguably the more "British" manufacturer) seems to have partially managed to pull that off with a 500m loan; everyone else (even Nissan, who supposedly got some guarantees in writing from the previous administration) decided it's not worth the trouble and is in the process of slowly divesting.

Zenst 7y ago

Indeed, brexit (though America don't call independence day Amexit!) for many hasn't happened and what we have is a case of still being in the EU and many trying to chuck everything in the way to keep us there. So really it's more how the leave process is being derailed left and left-again, that has and does cause the issue. After all, until it happens, everything is based upon perception and pushing a doom picture utterly suits those who wish to not leave the EU. Put another way, nobody blamed joining the EU for the demise of way more manufacturing and indeed the coal industry. Yet that is what happened. Cheaper EU coal imports, then eventual erosion of manufacturing bit by bit. But that gets overlooked oddly enough. Still the UK shifted from manufacturing to services, albeit many EU trade deals and indeed their own members, kinda fall foul in how they handle services with the EU actually looking at punishing members for not opening up their services market. But in fairness, whilst the EU is not perfect - nothing is perfect.

blaser-waffle 7y ago
> Indeed, brexit (though America don't call independence day Amexit!) The US never voted to leave the EU; they were never part of the EU, and openly fought against the French in the 7 Years War. The US voted to leave the British Empire -- and fought a war for it (with some French help later, of course). Nearest I can tell Brexit is a confluence of UK Conservatives and foreign interests spreading Agi-Prop to A) enrich themselves at the expense of the UK as a whole, B) to split the UK from the EU in a geo-political sense, and C) to, in all likelihood, crush the UK economy. > Put another way, nobody blamed joining the EU for the demise of way more manufacturing and indeed the coal industry. Yet that is what happened. Cheaper EU coal imports, then eventual erosion of manufacturing bit by bit. But that gets overlooked oddly enough. Coal was on the way out regardless of European integration. The US was never in the EU and coal still vanished; Donald Trump pandering to the coal industry is not and will not bring it back. Likewise, staying out of the EU would have been, at best, a temporary stay of execution for the UK coal industry.