{"id":68945,"date":"2016-03-23T15:22:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T15:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=1bec412330ff840acb422751539834cd"},"modified":"2016-03-23T15:22:00","modified_gmt":"2016-03-23T15:22:00","slug":"press-release-600000-jobs-in-uk-drinks-industry-safer-in-reformed-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=68945","title":{"rendered":"Press release: 600,000 jobs in UK drinks industry safer in reformed EU"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<div class=\"call-to-action\">\n<ul>\n<li>UK\u2019s \u00a345 billion wine and spirits industry supports nearly 600,000 jobs, with <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> export market worth \u00a31.8bn last year.<\/li>\n<li>Nine out of 10 wine and spirits producers and exporters say Britain is better off in the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>.<\/li>\n<li>International <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> free trade agreements worth hundreds of millions every year to British spirits trade would be at risk if we left the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Almost 600,000 jobs in the UK alcohol industry will be safer in a reformed European Union, the Prime Minister vows today.<\/p>\n<p>Britain\u2019s wine and spirits industry made \u00a31.8 billion in <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> exports for the UK economy last year.<\/p>\n<p>The country\u2019s booming alcohol industry also makes hundreds of millions a year from 35 free trade deals struck by the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> with over 50 countries. For example, trade deals the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> has with South Africa and South Korea are worth \u00a3250 million to the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Since the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> signed a deal with South Africa, UK gin exports have increased from virtually nothing to over \u00a32 million. And gin exports to South Korea have trebled in the 4 years since a 2011 free trade agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister David Cameron today warns that jobs and investment could be put at risk if the UK leaves the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> and has to renegotiate bilateral deals for alcohol sales with these countries and the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n<p><abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> free trade talks are already under way with the US, India and China, which could open up huge new growth opportunities for the British alcohol industry through world-leading products such as Scotch whisky and English gin.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister David Cameron said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Britain will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed Europe than out on our own, because we will have full participation in the free trade area, bringing jobs, investment, lower prices and financial security. That means real certainty so you can plan for the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">On the other hand, those who want to leave Europe can\u2019t tell you if British businesses would be able to access Europe\u2019s free trade area; or if your job is safe, how much your prices would rise, how much your mortgage would be at risk, or if the funding for your local school or hospital is secure. They are offering you risk at a time of uncertainty. It is a leap in the dark.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A third of UK wine and spirit exports, worth \u00a31.8 billion a year, currently go to the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>, meaning a vote to remain in a reformed union would protect the huge industry from potential future trade barriers, rules and regulations which could keep British products out.<\/p>\n<p>A substantial chunk of the UK\u2019s export business comes from importing international wine from countries around the world and repackaging it for sale in the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>. This trade relies on 24 separate deals that the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> has with countries including Australia, South Africa and the US. All of these would have to be renegotiated if Britain left the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>, putting this business at risk.<\/p>\n<p>And Britain\u2019s seat at the table allows us to shape <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> rules that govern international output \u2013 in 2008 we were able to ensure new regulations for gin reflected standards already met by our industry, meaning our products were protected. If we vacated that seat, we would lose that influence and ability to protect our industries, and could put our position in the marketplace at risk.<\/p>\n<p>In such a climate our winemakers \u2013 winning scores of accolades and international acclaim for the quality of their sparkling wine in particular \u2013 could find it more difficult to take on the best France, Italy and Spain have to offer.<\/p>\n<p>In a survey by the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (<abbr title=\"Wine and Spirits Trade Association\">WSTA<\/abbr>), 90% of respondents said they wanted Britain to remain in a reformed <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n<p>The UK produces 4.5 million bottles of wine a year from its 470 vineyards and 135 wineries. We exported 30 million bottles of gin and 183 million bottles of whisky to the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> in 2015.<\/p>\n<p><abbr title=\"Wine and Spirits Trade Association\">WSTA<\/abbr> chief executive Miles Beale said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The vast majority of our membership is clear that the industry will better be able to invest, grow and create jobs if the UK remains in the single market. The industry needs a powerful UK voice within the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> to ensure that we can shape and influence regulations that will impact on the trade and its access to the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>\u2019s 500 million consumers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">It is clear that the UK spirit sector\u2019s strong exports performance and our place at the centre of the international wine industry are hugely positive for the UK and its consumers. There is real concern that this would be put at risk as a result of the UK exiting the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 id=\"notes-to-editors\">Notes to editors<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <abbr title=\"Wine and Spirits Trade Association\">WSTA<\/abbr> attributes \u00a317 billion of economic activity to wine and \u00a328 billion to spirits (total equals \u00a345 billion).<\/li>\n<li>Four out of 5 members of the <abbr title=\"Wine and Spirits Trade Association\">WSTA<\/abbr> cited concerns over the certainty of their trading environment as a major factor in their opposition to leaving the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>.<\/li>\n<li>Other key issues raised were restricted access to the single market; the UK losing its place at the table in setting <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr> regulations to which we would need to adhere; the impact of being excluded from existing free trade agreements with the <abbr title=\"European Union\">EU<\/abbr>; and the possibility of tariffs being imposed.<\/li>\n<li>600 million bottles of wine are bottled in the UK each year.<\/li>\n<li>English sparkling wine has been highly praised for its quality, beating Champagne in some competitions, and collecting a total of 74 medals and trophies in the 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards.<\/li>\n<li>The UK was responsible for more than 70% of global gin exports in 2014.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK\u2019s \u00a345 billion wine and spirits industry supports nearly 600,000 jobs, with EU export market worth \u00a31.8bn last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68945"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68945"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68947,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68945\/revisions\/68947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}