A future British authorities ought to undertake a “common coverage” of aligning with EU rules to enhance post-Brexit commerce, an unbiased cross-party enterprise group mentioned on Wednesday.

The advice to align with EU requirements throughout swaths of producing and common items commerce was amongst 114 proposals made in a report revealed by the UK Commerce and Enterprise Fee, which is co-chaired by Hilary Benn, a Labour MP and former cupboard minister.

The concepts, which embrace establishing a brand new Board of Commerce to function an unbiased watchdog for UK commerce coverage, comply with a pledge by Labour chief Sir Keir Starmer to construct a “nearer relationship” with Brussels if the get together wins the following common election.

Benn, chair of the Home of Commons Brexit choose committee till it was disbanded by Boris Johnson’s authorities in January 2021, mentioned the report supplied “a menu of issues that may very well be executed to assist our corporations to develop and prosper”.

“It’s now time to hearken to enterprise about what must be executed to repair the issues that we are able to all clearly see,” he added.

Starmer has vowed to “repair Brexit” after the EU-UK Commerce and Cooperation Settlement (TCA) negotiated by Johnson created a number of obstacles with Britain’s largest buying and selling accomplice. This month, he mentioned “the deal we’ve received, it was mentioned to be oven-ready, it wasn’t even half-baked”.

However Labour has supplied scant particulars about how it will cut back Brexit border frictions whereas holding a promise to not rejoin the EU single market or enter a customs union with the bloc.

Based mostly on in depth oral hearings and written proof from greater than 200 companies and commerce teams, the fee’s report set out an array of coverage choices forward of the following election, to be held by January 2025, and the five-yearly evaluate of the TCA, which is able to begin the identical yr. It acknowledged that a few of its proposals would require the co-operation of the EU.

To ease the affect of ending EU free motion, the physique urged a Youth Mobility Scheme for individuals aged between 18 and 30, reciprocal visa accords for musicians and different cultural employees, and rejoining an EU scheme to supply group visas for varsity journeys.

Alongside a deal to align with the bloc’s veterinary and meals requirements, which Labour has already promised to work on, the fee referred to as for the creation of an EU Regulatory Cooperation Council so London and Brussels can collaborate extra broadly on future guidelines.

It additionally mentioned the UK ought to strengthen ties with EU regulatory our bodies, such because the European Medicines Company and European Chemical compounds Company, together with making monetary contributions, to advertise “co-operation and harmonisation”.

The method would mark a step-change within the present authorities’s coverage of regulatory divergence from the EU, though analysis revealed in February by the UK in a Altering Europe think-tank confirmed enterprise had been sluggish to embrace the concept.

Juergen Maier, former boss of Siemens UK, mentioned policymakers wanted to intervene to ease the financial harm inflicted by Brexit on firms of all sizes.

“The EU is the UK’s largest buying and selling accomplice and a key driver in setting requirements globally, so ending dogmatic divergence and changing it with regulatory alignment the place helpful together with a brand new co-operation physique to facilitate it truly is a no brainer,” he mentioned.

The federal government mentioned: “The Commerce and Cooperation Settlement is the world’s largest zero tariff, zero quota free-trade deal. It secures the UK market entry throughout key service sectors and opens new alternatives for UK companies throughout the globe. Following the Windsor Framework each the UK and EU have publicly dedicated to maximising the alternatives of the TCA even additional.

“The UK and the EU are allies, buying and selling companions and buddies. We are going to proceed to work carefully with the EU and its establishments on a variety of shared pursuits to uphold the steadiness, safety and prosperity of our continent.”