LOSING access to the single market and customs union has the potential to leave an industrial sector nursing a costly future, an industry body has claimed.

Manufacturers’ organisation EEF has warned the Government must deliver immediate clarification on its Brexit intentions to give companies certainty.

Prime Minister Theresa May is due to trigger Article 50 on Wednesday to formally begin Britain’s EU exit, and Liz Mayes, EEF’s director for the North-East, said the Government has reached a crossroads in its Brexit plan.

She added any suggestion from ministers that ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’ is simply unacceptable to a manufacturing industry that accounts for nearly half of all UK exports.

Ms Mayes added the Government must enter into talks with business leaders to set out an approach, urging Downing Street to realise it must protect existing trade agreements from costly tariffs and ensure the UK can continue striking deals with the rest of the world.

The warning comes in a briefing paper, published today, wherein EEF calls on ministers to explain their position on the customs union and customs arrangements.

The document says that unlike a typical free trade-type negotiation, where walking away simply means the continuation of the status quo with neither party losing out, this is not the case between the EU and the UK.

It added should Britain walk away with no preferential access to the EU or international markets in place, on day one of Brexit it would immediately find itself at a loss, with the UK’s manufacturing sector bearing much of the brunt.

Ms Mayes said the manufacturing industry would be particularly vulnerable, with its industrial strength underpinned by a trading relationship with the EU.

She added: “The EU is our sector’s single biggest trading partner in a complex, tightly interwoven trading environment.

“Undermining the building blocks of this relationship – the single market and the customs union – without any other supportive structure in place would undoubtedly hurt our industry and condemn us to a painful and costly Brexit.

“The idea of being able to walk away empty-handed might be a negotiating tactic, but it would in reality deliver a risky and expensive blow.

“The rhetoric from the Government needs to focus instead on achieving a deal that will work for the UK and the EU.”

To highlight its point, EEF has revealed a ten-point list outlining why ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’ is unacceptable, which includes a loss of zero-rate tariffs and new non-tariff barriers, such as customs procedures.

Mr Mayes added: “It is going to be tough, but we must focus on developing an approach that aims to preserve frictionless trade while building a launch-pad from which the UK can secure ever more ambitious deals from around the world.”