Carmakers in Europe plug for a delay on new taxes that could hit their profits.

Hello, and you're listening to the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service,

I'm Leana Bern, a very good morning to you.

When the UK decided to leave the EU, it meant trading relationships between the two became

more complex before Brexit. Goods moved freely. After it, there are far more rules and checks.

Carmakers like Renault, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are calling for a delay to a new trade tax they say

could add billions to the cost of producing electric cars. UK and EU officials are meeting

today and they're expected to hammer this out. Now let's speak to the BBC's international

business correspondent Theo Leggett. Theo, can you explain what these new trade rules are?

Well, these are rules that date back to the trade incorporation agreement, the Brexit deal

that was drawn up a few years ago between the UK and the European Union and they state that

from January any cars which are being transported either between the UK and continental Europe,

the European Union or in the opposite direction must have a certain minimum level of local content.

Cars transported across the channel will have to have batteries that have been produced in either

the UK or the European Union and if they don't, those shipments will be subject to a 10% tariff

or tax. These are rules that were originally conceived as a way of protecting European markets

from cheap imports of batteries from countries like China but the problem is there's not

enough production in Europe yet which means that the vast majority of cars built in this region

and exported one way or the other across the channel will have to pay this tariff and that means

higher costs for producers and almost certainly higher costs for consumers as well when they buy

an electric car. Yeah, but Theo, I mean it has been three years since Brexit, was this just not

high on the automakers agenda or why are then I able to meet this target? Well, when these rules

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