LONDON: The Europe-India Chamber of Commerce (EICC) today joined hands with industry bodies representing the US, Canada and Japan to issue a Brexit plea to the UK government to make "urgent progress" on the issue.

The groups, also including the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, Canada Europe Roundtable for Business and Japan Business Council in Europe, said they represent the interests of an array of international businesses who are heavily invested in both the European Union (EU) and the UK and warned that the clock was ticking towards the October deadline for Britain to strike a final "Withdrawal Agreement" with the EU.

In the lead up to the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, they urged policymakers to address issues around governance, regulatory cooperation and post-Brexit preparedness. "Reaching agreement on these issues will provide businesses with more confidence that a Withdrawal Agreement can be agreed and ratified, thereby providing legal certainty for the proposed transition period and avoiding the worst-case 'cliff-edge' scenario in March 2019," they said in a statement titled 'Third country investors urge Brexit progress at June EU Council Summit'.

The statement said that while they recognised the complexity of finding a solution for the Irish border, the EU and UK must continue to try to find agreement on the issue that is seen as a stumbling block to an agreement.

EICC works as a platform for European and Indian businesses to enhance trade and commerce in their respective countries and focuses on assisting Indian inbound investments into Europe. Its joint statement comes soon after French aerospace giant Airbus warned that it may have to abandon investment plans for the UK over Brexit.

German auto giant BMW also said it needed clarity on Brexit negotiations "in the next couple of months," with other car manufacturers including Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover expected to issue a fresh warning over Brexit at a Society of Motor Manufacturing and Traders (SMMT) meeting tomorrow.

The UK's car industry is concerned that if the UK does not stay in the single market, it will be hit by costly delays in delivering components from the EU.

