EU and international briefing

Last week, the UK government secured a Brexit deal with the EU. The CBI has given the deal a ‘cautious welcome.’ The deal unlocks a transition period, guarantees the rights of the four million citizens living abroad in the UK and EU, and critically avoids a damaging no deal Brexit. But it is far from perfect. As it stands, businesses have concerns about the direction of the future UK-EU relationship, and how the deal will work for the economy. You can read our latest analysis on what the Brexit deal means for business here.

Yesterday’s parliamentary drama saw MPs back a Brexit deal in principle for the first time. But they rejected the breakneck three-day timetable the government proposed for scrutinising the deal– ruling out any chance Boris Johnson had of passing his deal by 31 October. Following this defeat, the government paused the parliamentary process while they await the decision from the EU on the extension request. European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted last night his recommendation to the EU27 to accept the UK request for an extension. Under the terms of the Benn Act, Johnson must accept whatever extension terms the EU offers.

For business, even though no deal looks less likely and an extension more certain, no deal is still a possibility. Therefore, until any extension request has been agreed by both sides members should continue to treat this as a potential outcome at the end of the month. Businesses can visit our no deal hub for guidance on how your business can prepare. The uncertainty this close to the October deadline, will continue to be a challenge for business, and as always, the CBI are here to provide support and to keep members updated as things progress.

We also continue our work on the international stage; ahead of the introduction of US retaliatory tariffs over Airbus subsidies on 18 October, Director-General, Carolyn Fairbairn wrote to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to express CBI member concerns about the risks posed by the escalating trade dispute. Carolyn repeated these concerns to the US Ambassador to the WTO during her visit to Geneva on 21 October, as part of a CBI campaign to support a rules-based international trading system in the face of growing protectionism. A CBI member delegation was at the World Trade Organisation Public Forum, on 10 October, where CBI Chief Economist Rain Newton-Smith presented a recent paper on how trade policy can better support our climate goals.

Dates for your diary

Brexit Briefing with Carolyn Fairbairn - 28 October

Join the CBI Director-General for an informative and engaging discussion in an exclusive Brexit webinar giving you the latest intelligence from interactions with politicians.

CBI Conference Series: International Trade - 10 December

The CBI’s First Conference on International Trade takes place in London on 10 December. Sign up below if you want latest insights on how new trends in international trade could impact your business.

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Recent engagement

• CBI Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn met with the Chief Adviser to the WTO Secretary-General in Geneva and WTO Ambassadors from the UK, US and Singapore
• Deputy Director-General, Josh Hardie have both held meetings with Andrea Leadsom, Secretary of State for Business, and with DExEU Permanent Secretary, Clare Moriarty alongside other business organisations
• As part of the government no deal preparations, our Director of Innovation, Felicity Burch, was invited to join an exclusive no deal planning group lead BEIS Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, Chris Skidmore. The group is looking at how best to prepare the science and innovation community in the case of a no deal. This group allows us to directly feed into issues with the Minister, collaboratively review practical implementation detail, and it also opens communication for government to share messages with the science and innovation community.