Airbus said it had more than 4,000 suppliers in Britain, and parts for its planes and other products crossed the English Channel multiple times. Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, the company said, “will set new boundary conditions cutting through this highly integrated system.” If Britain withdraws without reaching a deal with Brussels, as much as the company said it could lose as much as 1 billion euros, or about $1.16 billion, a week in revenue.
Prime Minister Theresa May has negotiated the outline of a deal in which Britain would remain subject to European Union rules for a transitional period immediately after its planned date of withdrawal, at the end of March 2019.
However that is conditional on striking a broader agreement on several thorny issues, including a backstop plan to prevent the imposition of border controls between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, which will remain in the European Union. That complex problem still has to be resolved.
Nor is there agreement in London on Britain’s plan for its longer-term economic relationship with the European Union, and how close future ties should be — an issue that has divided and paralyzed the government.
Even if Mrs. May manages to break that deadlock and unite her cabinet, she still faces the task of negotiating such a settlement with the European Union.
In the meantime, businesses are growing increasingly nervous.
“Even if we move into a standstill transition, that’s going to last two years and most business leaders think that’s insufficient,” said Mujtaba Rahman, the managing director in Europe for the Eurasia group, referring to a transition arrangement in which Britain remained subject to the same rules as though it was a full member of the European Union.
“I do think many other business are thinking the same thing, and many are likely to come out in public in the next few weeks,” he added.
