The maker of Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroen cars says it will have to close UK factories and move them to the EU if Westminster can’t negotiate a new Brexit deal with Brussels. The proximate causes of the ultimatum are the rules of origin enmeshed in the current deal which comes into force next year and will mean steep tariffs on electric vans exported to Europe because not enough of their parts come from the UK or EU. The underlying reason, of course, is Brexit, which ended tariff-free trade in all goods with all EU countries and forced the UK to renegotiate European free trade deals with dozens more. Remember Nissan’s agreement to stay in Sunderland soon after the referendum? It turns out you can’t buy off all the carmakers all the time.
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