Brexit Archives - MTA

The UK is set to diverge from the EU’s chemical regulation scheme as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has announced changes to the post-Brexit system. Following Brexit, the UK established its own regulatory framework, UK REACH, initially modelled after the EU system, while in Northern Ireland, EU REACH continues under the […]

As Brexit progresses, the UK is likely to see a “shift to lower-productivity manufacturing, reinforcing weak economy-wide productivity”.  Higher-productivity manufacturing will decline as the UK is left out of deeply-integrated European supply chains.  Jack Semple (Secretary of EAMA) notes that these are findings of a report, Trading Up, from the Resolution Foundation (RF), a well-respected […]

Jack Semple, Secretary of EAMA, has provided an update on this Bill which is going through parliament.  The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is expected to go to the House of Lords in late January, where it will face further scrutiny and proposed amendments.  It is evident that there remains considerable uncertainty surrounding […]

Earlier this week, our colleagues at the Institute of Export & International Trade produced a piece on the UK’s trade figures for October;  while we don’t usually report on the monthly trade figures, they highlight a continuing declines in UK exports after taking the effects of inflation into account – this is not just concentrated […]

UK Investment, 3rd Quarter 2022:  Among the package of data published last Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) were the figures for investment spending in the 3rd quarter.  At this stage, we only have the high level data, with the breakdown by sector and industry to follow at a later date. Total business […]

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for manufacturing for October generally shows a decline from the September readings with the global PMI compiled by J P Morgan using the data from S&P Global down again to a 28-month low of 49.4 – if we exclude the pandemic period, it is the lowest since 2012.  Output […]

The controversial Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (RUEL) is now going through parliament.  It was condemned in the Commons this week by Hilary Benn as giving unprecedented powers to government to sweep away law and he noted that there was little indication from the government as to how much change it intended. Benn […]

Jack Semple, Secretary of EAMA offers a round-up of what has happened in the past few days at Westminster in a combination of news and comment. Sunak has announced his new cabinet and those who will attend but are not full members.  There is a clear-out of many Johnson and Truss backers, although Therese Coffey […]

At the end of an historic week at Westminster, here are some highlights, with comment. Prime minister Liz Truss resigned on October 20th.  In a brief statement, she said that she had “set out a vision for a low tax, high growth economy – that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.  I recognise […]

You are invited to join us for our Make UK International Trade Webinar – Product Labelling: UKCA & CE Marking at 12:00 – 13:00 on 9th November. This short webinar will provide a further update on the actions that business will need to take to ensure compliance before Jan 1st, 2023. Book your place: Make UK […]

The government has extended its support service for firms moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland for an additional year, it announced yesterday (2 October). The Trader Support Service (TSS) was set up in 2020 to help traders comply with the new rules and customs obligations set out by the Northern Ireland Protocol. Since […]

The government has brought forward the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which it calls the Brexit Freedoms Bill in more polemical communications.  The intention is that passes into law by Christmas. The Bill will allow for amending, repealing or replacing most of these retained laws through the quick and easy mechanism of statutory […]

European Commission Economic Sentiment Indicator, September 2022:  The European Commission (EC) draws from a range of surveys to construct confidence indicators for six sectors of the economy and then uses five of these (financial services is not part of the calculation) to make up its Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI). After the more moderate fall in […]

A short briefing note on visiting, working and living in the EU post-Brexit has just been published by the House of Commons Library. A section on future negotiations noted that “the government says that the EU’s decision to treat British citizens in line with Schengen Borders Code provisions for Third Country Nationals is regrettable. But […]

August was another poor month for manufacturing globally, at least as it is reflected in the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data released this week.  The global PMI compiled by J P Morgan using the data from S&P Global fell to 50.3, its lowest reading since the same level was recorded in July 2020.  Within the […]

The MTA attended the Institute of Exports – UK Trade is Changing webinar which included proposed details of the government’s new Target Operating Model, the Single Trade Window, the Trusted Trader Scheme and the Eco-System of Trust. Businesses have to start preparing now for the changes that the government is planning to introduce to how […]

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for manufacturing for July makes rather gloomy reading with most countries seeing multi-month lows and a number falling below the crucial 50 level. The global PMI compiled by J P Morgan using the data from S&P Global (which excluded Ireland and Canada when it was published on Monday) fell […]

The May edition of the Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) compiled by J P Morgan using the data from S&P Global was very marginally higher than April’s low point, although the output element fell for the 2nd month running, mainly due to China (see below). As suggested by the flash estimate, the UK saw […]

CBI Industrial Trends Survey, May 2022: The latest results from the CBI Industrial Trends Survey (ITS) show an improvement in both output and orders growth in May – note that the data collection ran from 26th April to 12th May so this really refers to April (or the month before the date of the survey […]

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has a new director of advanced manufacturing, the change coming at a critical time for the sector. Fred Perry was principal private secretary to secretary of state Kwasi Kwarteng, and before that was deputy director for global supply chains at the Department for International Trade.  He […]

Bank of England’s Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions – Q1-2022:  In conjunction with the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPS) this week, at which they voted 8-1 to increase the Bank Rate to 0.75%, the Bank of England has published the latest summary of business conditions collected by their Agents around the country.  This […]

The Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing which is produced by J P Morgan using the data from IHS Markit, improved slightly in February to 53.6 but apart from January, it is at its lowest since the start of 2021.  There was an increase in output, new orders and employment and the although the […]

New Brexit opportunities and government efficiency minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has sown doubt over the future of independent testing for UKCA mark. The Times reports, from an extended interview: “Rees-Mogg revealed that the government did not intend to require firms to submit products for new British safety tests if they have been recognised by the European […]

A brief update on recent developments, with commentary.  As always, it does not aim to be comprehensive, rather to highlight important points. On manufacturing and advanced engineering, I suspect the government is facing growing frustration from outside and internal tensions: In The Times yesterday (February 17th), Dr Clive Hickman, in effect calls for a national […]

The government has published a guide to the benefits of Brexit and Jack Semple (Secretary of EAMA, of which MTA is a member) has written a summary. He notes that the paper draws aggregates much of what the government has done and aspires to do, without any particular reference to what was not possible while […]

EAMA, of which MTA is a member, has submitted evidence to International Trade Committee for its inquiry into the EU trading relationship. The six-page submission seeks to set out an objective overview of member firms’ experiences so far and views for the future, mindful that the impact of Brexit will vary according to circumstances and […]

The government has announced the formation of an AI Standards Hub, with a pilot being led by the Alan Turing Institute supported by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the National Physical Laboratory (NPI). As part of the UK’s national artificial intelligence strategy, the hub will aim to increase UK contribution to the development of […]

Doing business with Europe has changed. The UK has left the Single Market and Customs Union, subsequently new rules now apply. From 1st January 2022 new UK import controls on most goods in UK-EU trade came into force and there is a growing number of reported delays. You are invited to join us for our […]