{"id":556738,"date":"2025-11-08T06:57:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T06:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/556738\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T06:57:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T06:57:23","slug":"wales-hurt-hardest-by-brexit-trade-barriers-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/556738\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales \u2018hurt hardest\u2019 by Brexit trade barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

WALES has been \u201churt hardest\u201d by Brexit amid a \u201cmess\u201d of trade barriers, cultural blockades and a \u201cfading\u201d Welsh presence in EU relations, Senedd committees have warned.<\/p>\n

Delyth Jewell led an \u201cunprecedented\u201d cross-committee inquiry which found \u201cunanimous\u201d agreement from witnesses that the UK-EU trade deal has not benefited Wales.<\/p>\n

The Plaid Cymru politician warned the Welsh Government was not informed of UK priorities in advance, leaving Wales with a \u201cdiminishing voice\u201d and no \u201cseat at the table\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ms Jewell, who chairs the Senedd\u2019s culture and international relations committee, criticised UK ministers for refusing to give evidence to the inquiry or share their EU priorities.<\/p>\n

She told the Senedd: \u201cThis is a moment for ambition and for Wales not to be a mere passive observer in the processes that happen.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe must take an active role in shaping outcomes that matter to our culture, our economy, our environment, our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turning to the impact on culture, she said: \u201cTouring artists, creative professionals and cultural organisations face barriers that were unimaginable before Brexit, barriers that restrict mobility, increase costs and diminish Wales\u2019s cultural presence on the international stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evidence is stark \u2013 current arrangements for touring are described as unworkable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The debate heard the economic impact has been severe \u2013 with the EU remaining the biggest trading partner, accounting for 47% (or \u00a317.6bn) of Wales\u2019 total trade in goods.<\/p>\n

Hannah Blythyn, for the economy committee, said 90% of businesses are still dealing with challenges, including increased bureaucracy, costs, time, and supply chain disruption.<\/p>\n

\"LabourLabour MS Hannah Blythyn<\/p>\n

The ex-minister said: \u201cAccording to committee witnesses, processes cause extreme levels of cost, administration, complications and loss, intense annoyance, and are hugely frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Blythyn, who is the Labour Senedd Member for Delyn, criticised the Welsh Government for rejecting calls to produce its own detailed impact assessment of the trade agreement.<\/p>\n

She pointed out that such documents had been produced for trade deals with \u201cWales\u2019 smaller trading partners, but not its largest to date\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"PlaidPlaid Cymru MS Ll\u0177r Gruffydd<\/p>\n

The report\u2019s criticism was not limited to trade. Ll\u0177r Gruffydd, chair of the climate committee, warned Wales has had a glaring environmental governance gap since the UK left the EU.<\/p>\n

The Plaid Cymru politician expressed concerns about the UK-EU trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) containing no dedicated chapter on environment and climate cooperation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mike Hedges \u2013 who chairs the Senedd\u2019s legislation committee \u2013 sounded the alarm about Wales\u2019 diminishing voice in UK-EU relations. He criticised ministers for \u201cnot stepping in\u201d to support Welsh organisations\u2019 involvement.<\/p>\n

Mr Hedges told Senedd Members the Welsh Government has not published any Wales-specific information, advice nor guidance on the TCA since 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is incredible,\u201d he warned during Wednesday\u2019s (November 5) debate. \u201cIt is one of the most significant international treaties that will ever be considered by the Senedd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LabourLabour MS Alun Davies<\/p>\n

His Labour colleague Alun Davies told the Senedd he could \u201cthink of no witness\u2026 who said that Brexit had benefited Wales,\u201d adding he was \u201castonished\u201d the Welsh Government \u201cdoesn\u2019t seem to want to set real objectives for the future\u201d.<\/p>\n

The criticism was echoed by Adam Price, the former Plaid Cymru leader, who said: \u201cIf I can sum it up \u2013 we are in a mess, aren\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

Raising the World Trade Organisation\u2019s first post-Brexit review of trade, Mr Price warned Wales has been \u201churt the hardest\u201d due to a reliance on exports and smaller companies.<\/p>\n

\"ConservativeConservative MS Gareth Davies<\/p>\n

Conservative Gareth Davies was the only speaker to defend Brexit as he challenged the premise of the committees\u2019 report. He flatly rejected the report\u2019s framing, stating the \u201cdebate is over\u201d and the task is to \u201cmake Brexit work for Wales, not to re-run the arguments of 2016\u201d.<\/p>\n

Responding to the debate, Labour\u2019s Rebecca Evans said the Welsh Government was focused on ensuring Wales\u2019 distinct priorities are represented in UK-EU talks.<\/p>\n

Wales\u2019 economy secretary welcomed a \u201cnew, more positive direction\u201d in EU relations but insisted it remains \u201cvital that the views of devolved nations are heard\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WALES has been \u201churt hardest\u201d by Brexit amid a \u201cmess\u201d of trade barriers, cultural blockades and a \u201cfading\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[802,748,2000,299,5187,1699,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-556738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-brexit","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-european-union","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115512780788456015","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}