Japan’s EU deal ‘threatens post-Brexit UK industry’

Alarm raised after Nissan decision to halt expansion of Sunderland car plant

Experts have warned that a new EU-Japan trade deal could pose a post-Brexit threat to British industry in the wake of Nissan’s decision to backtrack on expanding its Sunderland plant.

The world’s biggest free trade deal came into force on 1 February and there are fears that Japan will stop using the UK as a manufacturing base, especially with a 0% tariff on car imports built into the EU-Japan agreement.

Related: Brexit: what are carmakers’ contingency plans?

Related: ‘It isn’t just Nissan, it’s all the jobs’: how the carmaker’s U-turn hit Sunderland

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