Nick Clegg (HERE) says the deal with Nissan could lead to a series of deals across industry sectors that may end up with the taxpayer paying “colossal amounts of money” in subsidies. Jeremy Warner in The Telegraph says Theresa May has taken a "massive gamble" on getting free trade with the EU in cars (HERE).
Bloomberg are reporting that, inspired by Nissan’s success, other industries will now likely intensify their lobbying: Banks want to keep so-called “passporting rights,” while pharmaceutical giants are keen for more foreign talent and a constant stream of funding.
GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca executives are already planning to meet ministers, according to the Sunday Times.
“Theresa May is digging herself deeper into a hole by promising help to Nissan,” Erik Nielsen, chief economist at UniCredit said in a report on Sunday.
One can't help but feel the Nissan deal was done because the government simply could not face the prospect of such a huge employer and contributor to exports pulling the plug so soon after Brexit and were prepared to offer anything to avoid it. All the EU need do is announce next April that they do not want to offer any kind of trade deal and are content to operate under WTO rules and we are sunk.
Update: Reuters are reporting (HERE) that the aerospace and pharm industries are seeking the same assurances that the government has offered to Nissan.
No comments:
Post a Comment