No-deal Brexit could end investment
In an appeal to both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Tokyo did not want a no-deal Brexit, that some companies were already moving out and that more investment could go.
“I know Boris and I know Jeremy, both of them pretty well,” Kono told Reuters in Osaka.
“I have communicated with them that Japan wouldn’t want no-deal Brexit. So hopefully Brexit could be done through an ordinary and calm way.”
Japan has long seen Britain as a pro-business gateway into the rest of the European Union and has around 1,000 companies based in the country, including major carmakers and technology firms.
According to Reuters, Japanese firms have invested over NZ$113 billion pounds in Britain.
But following the 2016 vote to leave the European Union, some Japanese firms have begun moving their business out of Britain, with particular concern over the impact of a possibly disorderly exit on October 31.
“Please, no no-deal Brexit,” Kono told the BBC. “Some companies are already starting to move their operations to other places in Europe.”
Asked whether investment could leave Britain, Kono said: “It could be that there is going to be less investment.”
Peugeot decision
French carmaker Peugeot says that plans to build the next generation Astra vehicle at its Ellesmere Port car plant, which would keep the site open, will depend on the terms of Brexit, says Reuters.
“The decision on the allocation to the Ellesmere Port plant will be conditional on the final terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union and the acceptance of the New Vehicle Agreement, which has been negotiated with the Unite trade union,” it said in a statement.
The factory built around five per cent of Britain’s 1.5 million cars last year. The Astra will also be made at Peugeot’s Russelsheim plant in Germany.
In an appeal to both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Tokyo did not want a no-deal Brexit, that some companies were already moving out and that more investment could go.
“I know Boris and I know Jeremy, both of them pretty well,” Kono told Reuters in Osaka.
“I have communicated with them that Japan wouldn’t want no-deal Brexit. So hopefully Brexit could be done through an ordinary and calm way.”
Japan has long seen Britain as a pro-business gateway into the rest of the European Union and has around 1,000 companies based in the country, including major carmakers and technology firms.
According to Reuters, Japanese firms have invested over NZ$113 billion pounds in Britain.
But following the 2016 vote to leave the European Union, some Japanese firms have begun moving their business out of Britain, with particular concern over the impact of a possibly disorderly exit on October 31.
“Please, no no-deal Brexit,” Kono told the BBC. “Some companies are already starting to move their operations to other places in Europe.”
Asked whether investment could leave Britain, Kono said: “It could be that there is going to be less investment.”
Peugeot decision
French carmaker Peugeot says that plans to build the next generation Astra vehicle at its Ellesmere Port car plant, which would keep the site open, will depend on the terms of Brexit.
“The decision on the allocation to the Ellesmere Port plant will be conditional on the final terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union and the acceptance of the New Vehicle Agreement, which has been negotiated with the Unite trade union,” it said.
The factory built around 5% of Britain’s 1.5 million cars last year. The Astra will also be made at Peugeot’s Russelsheim plant in Germany.
Carmakers have been particularly vociferous in their opposition to a no-deal Brexit due to fears over tariffs of up to 10 per cent on vehicles.
