What will it mean if we leave the EU?
On June 23, voters will take to the polls to decide if Britain should remain within the European Union. There has been a lot of mudslinging from both the Vote Leave and the Vote Stay camps, and no doubt things will continue to get messier as the referendum looms ever closer.
What does it mean for the fleet industry? We will not know the true effects of leaving the EU unless a leave vote is returned in June, and even then it could take months to see the effect. However, there has already been a lot of talk about what would happen to the fleet industry if we do leave, and it has the potential to be extremely costly for everyone.
So what could happen if we do leave?
Tariff increases
Currently, because we are part of the EU vehicles and vehicle parts can be imported and exported around the work without tariffs which helps with costs of manufacturing. Voting to leave the EU could mean that we lose the no tariff perk and we could see tariffs of up to 10 per cent. This could see fleet customers having to pay more for their rentals and less discounts with no room for price negotiation.
Extra costs
If we leave and manage to work out a free trade agreement, exporters could still be faced with further costs just to sell into the EU including having to pay for getting through customs and admin costs for complying with the European Union’s rules of origin.
The price of fuel
The AA has conducted an analysis on the pound, and it has said that if the sterling decreases in value, fleets could be paying a substantial amount more to fill up vehicles. We could see increases of over 18 pence at the pumps and this will not only cause problems for fleets but for everyone in the UK who has a vehicle.
Loss of business
Without access to the Free Trade Agreement that we have because of being an EU member, with its 500 million consumers, Nissan, Toyota and other major car manufacturers would not have opened factories here in Britain. If we leave, the could in fact shut up shop and go elsewhere, which means redundancies, less jobs and less attraction for manufacturers to set up shop here in the UK.
What does it mean for the fleet industry? We will not know the true effects of leaving the EU unless a leave vote is returned in June, and even then it could take months to see the effect. However, there has already been a lot of talk about what would happen to the fleet industry if we do leave, and it has the potential to be extremely costly for everyone.
So what could happen if we do leave?
Tariff increases
Currently, because we are part of the EU vehicles and vehicle parts can be imported and exported around the work without tariffs which helps with costs of manufacturing. Voting to leave the EU could mean that we lose the no tariff perk and we could see tariffs of up to 10 per cent. This could see fleet customers having to pay more for their rentals and less discounts with no room for price negotiation.
Extra costs
If we leave and manage to work out a free trade agreement, exporters could still be faced with further costs just to sell into the EU including having to pay for getting through customs and admin costs for complying with the European Union’s rules of origin.
The price of fuel
The AA has conducted an analysis on the pound, and it has said that if the sterling decreases in value, fleets could be paying a substantial amount more to fill up vehicles. We could see increases of over 18 pence at the pumps and this will not only cause problems for fleets but for everyone in the UK who has a vehicle.
Loss of business
Without access to the Free Trade Agreement that we have because of being an EU member, with its 500 million consumers, Nissan, Toyota and other major car manufacturers would not have opened factories here in Britain. If we leave, the could in fact shut up shop and go elsewhere, which means redundancies, less jobs and less attraction for manufacturers to set up shop here in the UK.
Comments
Post a Comment