WSTA sets out its plans for post-Brexit landscape

Brexit is set to be the “overwhelming” priority of the WSTA over the next few years, CEO Miles Beale told members at its annual conference – but the wider industry also needs to also take a lead in forming the post-Brexit landscape.

WSTA cheif executive Miles Beale (Photo: WSTA)

“Let’s be under no illusion, Brexit is a mammoth task for government, it’s unprecedented and there are fewer people to accomplish it,” he told delegates, adding that it would have a “considerable” effect on the wine and spirit industry. “We are the experts on trade in wine, spirits and beer at home, with the EU and internationally – we have shown ourselves to be an effective operative to government, and we can work with civil servants and politicians to shape the post-Brexit landscape if they let us.”

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“We must be positive, constructively critical and demanding,” he exhorted, adding that although the UK government can’t start negotiating until article 50 is triggered, the industry as well as the WSTA “can and must”.

“It’s all going to be about international trade,” he said, pointing out that the WSTA has already started talking to civil servants, trade bodies and producers in Australian and New Zealand, as reported by db last week.

“We intend to lead for the industry, in London, Brussels, Canberra, Wellington, and other capitals,” he said.

Beale outlined the WSTA’s three key aims – an orderly exit that would minimized the disruption of historic flows in and out of the EU, exploiting fully the new opportunities for trade with third countries, and to continue to argue for maximum support from the government in terms of fairer and lower taxation, support for SMEs and growing exports, and less regulatory burden.

“Because when Sterling falls 10-15%, it is not longer business as usual,” he argued.

The trade body has established new working groups to look at international trade, exiting the EU and customs, logistics and movement and will be identifying essential and non-essential regulation, as Beale pointed out the UK shouldn’t throw away EU rules that benefit British producers and consumers from inferior products. However he added there was the opportunity to stimulate innovation by removing some of the more illogical and potentially ‘protectionist’ elements, while still maintaining consumer confidence in established brands.

Meanwhile the UK needed to maintain a strong relationship with the EU itself, “British jobs depend on being able to export to the EU in the future and in similar ways to today – tariff free, import free a and with easy access to the EU’s internal market,” he argued.

However he argued that the wine and spirit industry was “well set” for the post-Brexit future, pointing to booming gin and spirit sales, the position of the UK as an entry point for the world’s wine producing nations and the growth of a domestic market on the back of the growth and reputation of English and Welsh wine.

“It is a healthy base line for measuring the Brexit-effect further down the line.”