Mandelson warns of £1.2bn “bombshell” cost for business with hard Brexit

One of the leading figures of New Labour has warned that businesses and consumers will suffer from a hard Brexit.

Former EU trade commissioner and Labour cabinet minister Peter Mandelson warned of a “billion-pound bill for losing access to trade deals with over fifty countries would be footed by businesses and passed on to consumers with higher prices in the shops.”

This £1.2bn bill he refers to comes from tariffs that would be imposed on imports from the European Union’s negotiated Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). There are over 50 of these non-EU nations across the globe. Industries that would be worst hit would be clothing, transport equipment, fruits and vegetables, fish, chemicals, minerals and metals, textiles and petrol.

Moreover, the competitiveness of British made goods would be undermined, as these FTA nations would then face tariffs on UK goods to the tune of £700 million.

Lord Mandelson’s intervention shows how figures from across the Labour Party are coming out to oppose Theresa May’s apparent plans to deliver a ‘hard Brexit’, which would take the country out of the single market and hit trade deals.

Mandelson, a supporter of the Open Britain campaign, he said: “Leave campaigners talk about all the free trade deals we can sign outside the EU but do not appreciate the value of those we already have. The EU is a leader in global free trade and we should seek to preserve its benefits, as far as is possible.”

“The best way to keep these deals in place would be to negotiate for membership of the Single Market and the Customs Union. Doing so would be a big boost for British importers and exporters.”