Trade body the BRC has reacted with concern to chancellor Sajid Javid’s plans to ditch EU rules as Brexit looms.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) issued a warning that consumers could face higher food bills after Javid told the Financial Times that he was ruling out alignment with EU regulations.
He told the newspaper: “There will not be alignment, we will not be a rule-taker, we will not be in the single market and we will not be in the customs union – and we will do this by the end of the year.”
The BRC said: “We need a UK-EU deal which puts consumers first: minimising barriers to trade so that the British public do not face higher costs on food and other goods from next January.
“The UK imports half of the food it consumes, most of which from the EU. New tariffs and increased regulatory checks would increase the cost of food for everyone, and it is the Government’s responsibility to prevent this through its negotiations with the EU.
“A negotiation involves give and take from both sides, but we need a pragmatic approach on our regulatory relationship with the EU.”
Other consumer-related trade bodies have also voiced concerns over the abandonment of EU rules.
Tim Rycroft of the Food and Drink Federation told the Sunday Times that divergence would be “the death knell for frictionless trade” and ”may well result in price rises”.
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