BRITAIN must “resist the siren calls of protectionism” and play a central role in carving out a crucial global trade deal, the head of the CBI says today.
In his New Year message, John Cridland highlights the importance of securing a ground-breaking European Union-United States free trade agreement to the UK’s long-term growth prospects.
He calls on politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to seize the moment during the first 100 days of president Barack Obama’s second term.
The CBI director-general, who speaks on behalf of more than 200,000 businesses, argues that agreeing a trade deal was vital to growth and job creation in Britain, as well as the wider European community.
In a strongly-worded message, Cridland concedes that politicians needed to “tread very carefully” on the future for Europe given the ongoing ructions in the eurozone, but adds that “businesses don’t want the baby thrown out with the bathwater”.
His call for political action comes as some of Britain’s biggest banks raise fears over the risk to the City from any UK exit from the European Union.
According to a Sunday newspaper report, some senior banking figures are privately warning the Treasury over UK government plans for a referendum where one of the options could be a split from Europe. They argue that leaving the union would destabilise the UK, hit its recovery and could lead to the departure from the City of a number of European investment banks.
In his message, Cridland says: “President Obama and the EU’s political leaders need to grab the bull by the horns. We need to be mature and resist the siren calls of protectionism and look long term.
“The best way of creating jobs, promoting investment and stimulating growth is by eliminating the tariffs and harmonising the regulation which holds back businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Business leaders want to see real urgency on this in the first 100 days of Obama’s second term. We don’t want to turn around in four or five years’ time and regret not seizing this massive opportunity.”
His remarks come as the business lobby kickstarts a “major” project in the new year to flesh out how the UK’s global role should look in a new Europe.
It will examine how Britain can remain a top location to do business – expanding export markets particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, without losing access to the single market. The study is due to conclude in mid-2013.
Cridland adds: “We need to recognise and adapt to the realities of the multi-speed Europe which is emerging. The fallout in the eurozone from the debt crisis is not just forcing through rapid political and financial integration. It is also forcing all countries to fundamentally rethink the EU’s wider purpose and deal urgently with the sort of structural flaws Europe has ignored for decades.
“We must tread very carefully though. The debate about our future in Europe in 2013 must be based on an informed, hard-headed analysis of where our long-term economic and financial interests lie and business will need to make its voice heard.”