Chancellor Sajid Javid warns business ‘there will be no alignment’ with EU on regulations
The Chancellor has warned businesses that “there will not be alignment” with the EU on regulations following Brexit.
Sajid Javid said firms will have to “adjust” to new regulations.
The automotive and pharmaceutical industries were among those that warned the government last year of the damage that not aligning with the EU could do.
Javid admitted that not all businesses would benefit from Brexit.
“There will be an impact on business one way or the other, some will benefit, some won’t,” he told the Financial Times.
When asked about how the change in regulations may impact industries such as automotive and pharmaceuticals, he said: “We’re also talking about companies that have known since 2016 that we are leaving the EU.
“Admittedly, they didn’t know the exact terms.”
The chancellor did not specify which EU rules he wanted to change or remove, but cited the automotive industry in Japan as a manufacturing sector that had found success outside of EU regulations.
The UK will have until the end of this year to negotiate a trade deal with the EU as part of the transition period following Brexit on 31 January.
During that timeframe the UK will continue to follow EU rules.
Javid also said outlined plans to increase the UK’s annual economic growth to between 2.7 and 2.8 per cent.
He said the additional growth would come from the Midlands and north of England where there would be investment on skills and infrastructure despite being able to get more “bang for buck” in other regions.
It is double what Bank of England governor Mark Carney had predicted last week, in which he said the UK’s trend growth rate would be much lower at between 1 and 1.5 per cent.
Javid said the historically low interest rates were “almost a signal to me from the market – from investors – that here’s the cash, use it to do something productive”.
The chancellor also vowed to rewrite Treasury investment rules, which have helped to “entrench” inequality by favouring spending in places with high economic growth. He said he will promote spending in weaker parts of the country.