Euratex pleads for UK and EU to reach Brexit deal or face huge job losses

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 24, 2020

Euratex, a body representing the European textile and clothing industry, has pleaded with negotiators from the UK and EU to reach a Brexit deal or face the jobs devastation that a no-deal would cause.

This week it said almost 130,000 jobs are at stake with a study it commissioned from the University of Leuven showing that a no-deal outcome would mean the loss of 27,000 jobs in the UK and more than 100,000 in the EU-27.

The warning came at the same time as the Governor of the Bank of England said that the effects of a no-deal Brexit would be worse for the British economy than Covid-19 has been.

Meanwhile the Euratex study said output losses for the UK would be 41.8% of its value added in textiles and clothing production, while the EU-27 as a whole would lose about 9.7%.

The UK has already technically left the EU but trade has been operating under the transition agreement that’s due to end on December 31.

Euratex said that even if a deal is reach (the so-called soft Brexit), there would be disruption, although the damage would be minimised. In this case, it estimates these UK would lose almost 4,800 jobs with an output reduction of 7.3%. For the EU-27, close to 18,000 jobs would go, but it would see only a 1.7% output loss.

The largest share of job losses among the 27 countries of the EU would be, in decreasing order, in Italy, Romania, Portugal, Germany, France, Spain and Poland. Under a hard Brexit, Italy would lose around 27,000 jobs, Romania around 12,000 and Portugal around 11,000.

But aside from those numbers, as a proportion of sector employment and value added in particular countries, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Denmark and Czechia would be the most affected countries within the EU-27, the study claims.

For Ireland and Belgium, a no-deal Brexit would lead to 23% and 14% job losses, respectively, in the sector and an output loss of 40% and 25% of their sector value added.