Ford Motor Co. is seeking more clarity on what post-Brexit trading conditions will look like between Britain and the European Union as it considers future U.K. investments, according to a Reuters report.
Executives have raised concerns that Brexit will lead to increases in tariffs and customs scrutiny, which could disrupt the flow of trade and hurt existing manufacturing plants, according to the report.
Steven Armstrong, the head of Ford's Europe, Middle East and Africa units, told Reuters in an interview March 5 at the Geneva Motor Show, that a "hard Brexit" would lead to the World Trade Organization imposing 10% tariffs on imports and exports as well as lower rates on other components, costing the company up to $1 billion annually, according to the report.
Ford is Britain's largest automotive engine manufacturer, creating 2.7 million units at its locations in Bridgend, Wales, and Dagenham, London, Reuters reported. The Bridgend site will continue building some of Ford's own engines. However, the company has not made a decision on what will replace the current run built for Jaguar Land Rover. Unions fear that more than 1,000 jobs will be axed.
"The sooner we have the clarity, the easier the decisions become to make, positive or negative, so that clarity is the important part of this," Armstrong said in the interview.
Britain is expected to leave the European Union by the end of March 2019.
