With the first phase of the Brexit negotiations complete and the government’s domestic agenda clearer, Carolyn Fairbairn writes to members detailing the CBI’s reflections on engagements with government and political stakeholders in Brussels and Washington.
Dear members,
For the first time in nearly 50 years, the UK is outside the EU. As the government prepares for this new chapter in British history, I wanted to share a few reflections from our recent work and conversations, both here and in Brussels and Washington.
The good news is that there’s unquestionably a renewed sense of economic optimism on the back of the general election. This is coming through in my conversations with members and in the CBI’s surveys. We have a government with a strong mandate and broadly pro-enterprise agenda, with the space to think and act for the long-term. The CBI’s main message in all our engagements with ministers and officials is that there’s an opportunity now to turn this optimism into new investment through the right action, taken in partnership with business.
Phase 2 begins – mandates for the negotiation published
Inevitably, a good deal of CBI attention remains on Brexit. Two weeks ago, I was in Brussels with BusinessEurope, seeing EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan and Head of the European Council’s Brexit taskforce, Didier Seeuws. Both meetings offered welcome signals about the need to move beyond the dogmatic approach that characterised phase one of the negotiations and an appreciation that red lines don’t help deliver solutions. But there was a clear message that a zero-tariff, zero-quota deal comes with obligations, namely around the level playing field. While talk of a Singapore-on-Thame
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