No-deal tariff regime would be ‘sledgehammer’ to UK economy, CBI warns

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady accused the Government of showing “reckless disregard for people’s jobs”, warning the proposed tariff regime would be “a hammer blow to our manufacturing industries and the communities they support”. The general secretary of steelworkers’ union Community, Roy Rickhuss, said: “The Government’s plan for zero tariffs would be a fresh betrayal of British steelworkers, putting further pressure on their jobs at a difficult time for the industry.” In special arrangements for Northern Ireland, the UK’s temporary import tariffs will not apply to EU goods crossing the border from the Republic. The decision – designed to avoid the need for checkpoints which might revive sectarian tensions – has raised fears of smuggling, as ministers insist there will not be a border down the Irish Sea.