Progress at Last! – British Irish Chamber Welcomes UK White Paper on Brexit
The British Irish Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the publication of the white paper on Brexit by the UK Government but has called for a full agreement on services to be sought.
Commenting after the publication of the white paper, John McGrane, the Director-General of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, said: “At last we have real progress. The British Irish Chamber of Commerce welcomes Mrs May’s Government’s White Paper as a set of serious constructive proposals which deserve detailed consideration by the EU in the negotiations ahead. Clearly there are many elements which will need refinement but the basis for a workable outcome are now on the table.”
John McGrane added: “The Chamber has long been urging the UK to outline what kind of Brexit it wants and at least now we know. The proposed free trade in Goods is vital for all, especially our shared agri-food sector. But we cannot afford to end free trade in all services simply because some sectors might reject the EU’s rules. Services account for more jobs and are vital to enabling all trade. We must therefore keep services flowing as well as goods in order to protect jobs across the whole economy.”
The British Irish Chamber of Commerce is a private sector trade organisation, founded in 2011 to represent businesses and employers with interests in the two islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The Chamber’s mission is to highlight, protect and grow the trade between Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. That trade is worth over €1.2 billion a week or €65 billion a year and it supports 400,000 jobs, about evenly between the two islands.
