Photo: Pixabay/Elionas2Anticipated EU tariffs enormously increase the cost of producing electric vehicles and there is a risk of factory closures and layoffs
One of the world's largest car manufacturers, Stellantis, has sent a clear message to the UK government.
Stellantis demands that the British either renegotiate with the European Union on part of the trade Brexit agreement or close down factories on the Island and thus eliminate thousands of jobs.
From 2024, stricter regulations for industrial products apply between the EU and Great Britain. Under the Brexit deal, from then on 45 per cent of British electric car components will have to be of UK or EU origin - to be exported to the EU duty-free. From 2027, it will have to be as much as 65 percent.
In practical terms, that's hard to do, says Mike Howes, managing director of the British Automotive Trade Association. Namely, batteries, which make up a large part of the value of electric cars, are hard to come by. Domestic production cannot meet demand, says Howis.
There is a real danger that car manufacturers will actually have to pay customs duties on exports to the EU from next year. Namely, electric batteries will probably have to be bought outside the EU, and most of them will most likely come from Asia, that is, probably from China or South Korea.
Stellantis is a Dutch-American corporation based in the Netherlands and employs nearly 250 people in several countries.
Andy Palmer, an automotive industry expert and former Nissan manager, fears that it will not only affect the 5.000 or so employees at Stellantis. A total of around 800.000 jobs in the UK are linked to the car industry, says Palmer.
The British government must now act urgently: The most important thing now is to bring battery manufacturers and other car manufacturers back to the UK, says Palmer.
In the meantime, the UK must continue negotiations with the EU to achieve better terms. This is also demanded by other car manufacturers, including the German Association of the Automotive Industry.
I.D./Deutsche Welle
Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews at www.vreme.com
Economist Milojko Arsić expects a drop in employment in companies that operated with the support of the outgoing government. For Vreme, he talks about how to save jobs and what threatens public finances due to the debts of the city of Belgrade and Telekom
The student movement and future MPs are seeking an agreement on who decides on the composition and program of the new Government, writes "Vreme" in its new issue. While the consultations are ongoing, the program of more than a thousand pages is already ready
For Aleksandar Vučić, the consequences of the change of his government will be economic collapse, departure of foreign investors from Serbia, mass layoffs, jeopardy of pension payments, instability of the banking system, spread of crime. All in all - a cataclysm
In the midst of the arrests of politicians and businessmen after the defeat of the Aleksandar Vučić regime in the elections, the controversial businessman Zvonko Veselinović traveled to Turkey.
The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade rejects the report of the Supreme Public Prosecution Commission as "malicious" and "baseless", accusing its members of exceeding their powers and intimidating prosecutors.
At the moment when the institutions of the Republic are destroyed, when Vučić's octopus is still alive, when people are disgusted by the injustice and the stench left behind by the Essenes regime, we have, as Machiavelli said, only civic virtue as the fuel with which we can return to the beginning
The four independent members of REM are an example of perseverance and civic responsibility. Rodoljub Šabić even, upon leaving the premises of REM, after the sentencing of the Informer, experienced that the Essenes insulted him, hit him with their hands and feet. But that too will soon be over
Vučić pardoned the batterers and Dijana Hrkalović. The election winners should abolish the sultan's power that allows one man to run afoul of the entire judicial system
Interview: Branko Stamenković, public prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office
A black picture and the breakdown of the rule of law subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
After three years of wrangling over what Brexit will look like and when it will happen, the British Parliament has agreed to hold a snap election on December 12.
Britain's conservative government has decided to tighten the law to deter undocumented immigrants. Opponents of the project are outraged and wonder if London is violating international law?
