Brexit: Aerospace and Automotive Industries

Debate between Lord Prior of Brampton and Lord Lea of Crondall

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, in both the aerospace and automotive industries, for a number of years we have had an extremely close partnership between industry and government, to the benefit of both parties.

[Lord Lea of Crondall (Lab)]

It is reassuring for this side of the House to see the noble Lord, Lord Tebbit, scraping the barrel. To enable integrated production around Europe, is it not just a question of tariffs? As the Road Haulage Association said, instead of needing one piece of paper to get from Munich to Toulouse, for example, we will need 60 pieces of paper, unless we are part of a European arrangement for all these technical standards.

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, the integrated supply chains that have developed over a number of years are not just limited to the EU. The aerospace industry is a case in point: its supply chains are global supply chains—and, of course, under WTO rules there are no tariffs for aircraft or aerospace parts. We should raise the horizon away from just the European Union.