Wales & South West Responses & Preparations for Brexit & UK Trade Policy

Background

The complex process of withdrawal from the EU presents major challenges for the business community in the South West and Wales. It needs to adapt to changing scenarios (changes to agricultural policy affecting farming and fisheries, to industrial policy affecting aerospace and related industries, to migration policies affecting the creative and hospitality industries, to trade policies affecting all economic sectors), whilst lacking knowledge, resources and time to devote to the process.

The project brings together business representatives, policy-makers, civil society and a team of multidisciplinary academics specialising in trade law, trade agreements, regional business and industrial policies, the division of competence within the UK territorial constitution and the relationship between governments, migration and employment and civil society voice and participation in European policy processes to co-create a deeper understanding of the fabric of regional businesses, their pressing questions and concerns regarding Brexit and future UK trade policies, whilst jointly developing avenues for policy influence alongside various regional authorities.

This will address GCRF Challenge 6 (Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies) as it intends to join forces with regional economic actors, and reflect upon how best to enhance that in a changing and uncertain situation. By identifying regional priorities and articulating them in support of specific trade and industrial policies that will support future business and employment in the region, the project also addresses Challenge 10 (Social justice and inequality, local and global).

Project summary

The key aim of the project was to grow and nurture a collaborative network with regional businesses and policy-makers, and contribute to the articulation of sector and region-relevant strategies for Brexit and future UK trade policy. The community held a workshop in Bristol in 2019 with microfirms to discuss their attitudes to Brexit; following this the community set up an engagement plan with those firms. However, the project faced significant hurdles with (1) continued delays and ambiguity around Brexit making businesses reluctant to engage with the network and then (2) COVID impacted the practicality of in person visits with businesses, reduced the time businesses had to engage and added work pressures to the lead community members. Instead, the team employed an RA to review and analyse existing surveys asking small businesses about their Brexit preparedness and how this changed over time; this will be a publication.