How can government help in easing Brexit’s impact on UK manufacturers?

It’s not a hidden fact that several sectors have been faced with various disruptions and teething problems since the UK’s exit from the EU became effective last year. The UK’s manufacturing sector is one of the sectors that has been weighed down heavily by Brexit along with the rising costs.

How is Brexit impacting the manufacturing industry?

A recent Make UK and PwC 2022 senior executive survey revealed that around 67 per cent of manufacturers in the country were either moderately or significantly impacted by Brexit. UK’s exit from the continent is one of the biggest challenges faced by the industry, doubled down by the hindrance faced by the pandemic.

Bottlenecks due to customs-related delays, low levels of access to the worker pool who come from outside of the UK, higher expenses due to complying with UK and EU’s rules, and other factors are among some of the key challenges for the industry.

Despite all the adversity, the manufacturers hold an upbeat outlook for the sector’s recovery owing to the sector’s resiliency, despite being faced with such issues. However, this recovery requires active support from the government.

Government can aid the recovery of manufacturing

Industry leaders are intending to shift the operations of their businesses out of the UK, in order to avoid facing further disruptions from the supply chain, Brexit, cost pressures. This offshoring of operations may well go on for another 2 years.

But here is precisely where the government has an opportunity to help boost the confidence among industry leaders. Since leaders are facing delays due to bottlenecks at customs, EU-UK trade restrictions, and red tape, one of the first things the UK government can do is to help streamline its processes along with these areas.

Custom delays can be resolved by reviewing the current bottlenecks. One of the main reasons for such delays is import checks and certain changes made to the label of goods and other products.

Some ways to address these issues can include, helping to disseminate this product labeling change information to manufacturers in a timely manner as and when any changes take place.

Another method can be to create a checklist by sector and/or trading region, which manufacturers may refer to help and adhere to such rules. These actions can help in significantly cutting down delays.

Access to the migrant worker may be granted by offering longer-duration work visas to them, and by reducing the time taken to issue such visas to EU Based migrant workers.

Some other measures can include accepting inputs from industry leaders on where the government can also better support the sector, creating a robust support package to help attract businesses to maintain operations in the UK, developing a strong long-term strategy for the sector, and much more.