Britain and the European Union should agree a Brexit transitional period that would allow the UK to protect jobs and investment, the country's main business lobby group said today.
Ahead of meeting Brexit minister David Davis for talks tomorrow, the Confederation of Business Industry proposed that the UK seek to stay inside the EU single market and a customs union "until a final deal is in force", echoing comments recently made by the country's vital car sector.
"Negotiators on both sides of the UK-EU talks should aim to agree transitional arrangements as soon as possible," the CBI said in a statement.
"A limited period of transition, beginning when the Article 50 process ends, would provide firms with continuity and certainty, protecting jobs and trade flows."
British business leaders have long urged the government to rule out a hard break with the European Union that would see Britain's departure from the single market or tariff-free zone, while also ending the free movement of people.
They have argued also that uncertainty over the terms of Brexit was impacting investment decisions -- and warned against a situation whereby Britain leaves the EU single market without having a new trade deal in place that would mean reverting to trading under World Trade Organization rules.
British Prime Minister Theresa May in March invoked Article 50 of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, thus triggering two years of Brexit negotiations. But since her Conservative party lost its parliamentary majority in Britain's snap general election in June, the prospect of a hard Brexit has waned.
"Instead of a cliff edge, the UK needs a bridge to the new EU deal," CBI Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn said today in a lecture given at the London School of Economics (LSE).
"Even with the greatest possible goodwill on both sides, it's impossible to imagine the detail will be clear by the end of March 2019. This is a time to be realistic.
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