Daily Archives: January 9, 2021

The things which are proving problematic are the things that we expected to be problematic, Ms. Jones said. So for goods, its all about the speed and accuracy with which people are preparing the right paperwork.

Many U.K. businesses at least 150,000, according to data from Britains tax agency have never traded beyond the European Union, and so have no experience dealing with the customs systems.

The situation in Northern Ireland is an added wrinkle. Northern Ireland will remain partially in the European Unions single market, an exception that avoids a border with the Republic of Ireland but creates a border in the Irish Sea. Logistics experts say the Trader Support Service, a free government service to help companies complete customs forms to send goods from England, Wales and Scotland to Northern Ireland, has been overwhelmed.

Some businesses anticipated cross-border problems with Europe, and filled warehouses with stockpiled goods auto parts and pharmaceuticals, for example before the end of the Brexit transition period. That has kept cross-border shipments at a fraction of their normal level so far. Over the next few weeks, as those stockpiles run down, business activity will pick up, exacerbating delays.

Another new problem faced by large retailers with international locations: Rules-of-origin requirements, which determine whether a product leaving Britain is British enough to qualify for tariff-free trade with the European Union. International retailers who use sites in Britain as distribution centers are now finding that they cant automatically re-export their products to their stores in the European Union without facing tariffs even if the product came from the bloc.

For example, a company could not import jeans from Bangladesh or cheese from France into a hub in England and then send it on to a store in Ireland without facing export tariffs. The British Retail Consortium said at least 50 of its members face such tariffs. Debenhams, a large but now bankrupt chain of department stores, shut down its Irish website because of confusion over trade rules.

As companies scramble to catch up to the rule changes, the question is: What does Britain do with the sovereignty and freedom it has secured from leaving the European Union? The government has to decide how much it wants to diverge from Europes rules, where it might want to deregulate, and if it wants to pay the price for that.

Original post:

A Week Into Full Brexit, the Pain for U.K. Businesses Has Arrived - The New York Times

Having lived and studied in the United Kingdom and Europe for many years, I always held a special place in my heart for Britain, and its fiercely patriotic citizens with a wonderfully quirky sense of humor.

I was convinced that the British people were not being given the truth about the real consequences of leaving the E.U., and that most top politicians probably had no clue either. But what really shocked me was the way that any criticism of Brexit was met: Arrogance, hubris and long-buried distain for foreigners bubbled up to the surface and revealed a sad ugliness in what I had perceived to be a most distinguished nation.

Even though I still hope Britain can manage to resurrect itself and rise like a phoenix from the ashes of Brexit, its behavior over the last four years has finally removed my rose-colored glasses. It now seems that Britain truly cut off its nose to spite its face.

Belle von der GoltzNeedham, Mass.

To the Editor:

Peter Gumbels article was heartbreaking and heartfelt. I have another reason to lament Britains departure from Europe. I fear that this historically amazing country which first lost its empire, then part of Ireland, soon maybe Scotland will also lose its position as a world financial center and become a bit player in world affairs.

This is not just bad for Britain but for the whole world, which risks losing one of the most trusted, informed and intelligent voices in international affairs. Will the special relationship with the United States be weakened if this voice is no longer needed as a bridge to the European Union? Or within the United Nations, where stronger countries are waiting to step into the void Brexit may have created?

Pamela TaylorGeneva

To the Editor:

Peter Gumbels article draws a very accurate picture of how the U.K. got into its current situation, and of where those of us who did not want to leave the E.U. now find ourselves. What is there in Brexit for people like me? Nothing. Nor has there been any attempt to offer anything that would mitigate the situation for us. We British Europeans really are, in Theresa Mays words, citizens of nowhere.

Between 2010 and 2017 I was a Brit abroad, living and working in Ontario, where I enjoyed being part of a decent, diverse and outward-looking country. On my return to England I was staggered by how the country had changed and was shocked when Boris Johnson, a right-wing populist, took control, supported by far-right ideologues. As a result of their isolationist agenda, my children and grandchildren now face the prospect of growing up in a country that, in Mr. Gumbels words, is a sad shadow of its former self.

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Opinion | Joy for Brexit, and Mourning - The New York Times

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A major chunk of trading in euro-dominated shares has been moving from London to European continental exchanges since the beginning of the week, after the U.K. left the European Union single market, and the two sides are now headed toward uncharted confrontation over the future of European finance.

Financial services werent covered by the post-Brexit trade deal struck just before Christmas between the U.K. and the EU, and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has admitted that the deal perhaps [did] not go as far as [he] would like on the matter.

On Jan.1, U.K. financial services providers and banks lost the so-called passport that gave them the right to operate without restrictions throughout the EU, and now depend on unilateral decisions from European authorities to extend them an equivalence decision based on regulatory convergence, sector by sector.

Read:What the Post-Brexit Trade Deal Means for Markets and Investors

Billions worth of share trading have moved this week from London to exchanges set up in Amsterdam and Paris, to the tune of about 6 billion ($8 billion) a day.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told U.K. lawmakers on Wednesday that he didnt expect quick equivalence decisions from the EU, but insisted the country should not become a rule taker by mimicking EU regulations just for the sake of obtaining an access to European markets.

Professionals of the City of London quoted by Financial News said they didnt expect an agreement on financial services to be struck before a few years, the time for EU authorities to assess how much of Londons business will move to the continent.

Also:Its Time to Buy Post-Brexit British Stocks

Looking ahead. The U.K. and the EU have pledged to negotiate a memorandum of understanding by March to sort out the rules under which financial players could operate in each others markets. The EU seeks to repatriate business and jobs, and London wants to keep its financial might without having to abide by EU regulations.

But pledging to negotiate isnt the same as pledging to strike a deal. The only hope is that the talks, most likely led by bureaucrats and civil servants, wont be as politically weighted as the long negotiations over the trade deal last year. That should in theory make some form of agreement easier, even though the two sides respective interests remain at odds.

Read more:

U.K. and EU Head for Post-Brexit Battle Over Financial Services as Trading Moves Out of London - Barron's

Roger White arrived in France at 2.30pm on Tuesday with a truckload of hard cheese from Somerset.

Before Brexit he would have rolled off the Eurotunnel train and carried on up the A16 to Belgium, unloading his wares a few hours later at his ultimate destination in Utrecht.

But 24 hours after setting foot on European soil, the 69-year-old driver from Yeovil is still sitting in his cab in the Eurotunnel compound in Calais after being asked to reverse into a special unloading bay at a newly built border control post for sanitary and phytosanitary checks (SPS) checks on food.

Ive been here since yesterday afternoon and I am stuck here until God knows when. I have to wait until I am cleared to go, he said.

He knew there was trouble ahead when he drove off the shuttle and the electronic display assigned him the orange lane instead of the green, indicating he would be subjected to an inspection by authorities.

I think they are picking on the English trucks maybe, he said, as there was nothing wrong with the cheese. Just missing paperwork. Until it arrived, he would not be free to go.

I am just waiting here. It is terrible not good at all, he said.

A driver for 48 years, White remembers what it was like before the single market in 1993 swept away the trade barriers that Brexit has re-erected.

We had customs checks before but it was so well organised on the border, he remembers. Everybody is learning as they go. You can do your preparations beforehand but its not enough. All of this is new to everyone and unfortunately there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to get used to it, he said.

Eurotunnel traffic is exceptionally low seven days after Brexit with drivers and exporters still avoiding the ports and Channel train services, partly because of pre-Brexit stockpiling and partly because business is conventionally quieter in the first two weeks of the new year.

In normal times, 6,000 to 9,000 HGVs cross the Channel each day, but the Department for Transport said just over 2,000 HGVs crossed on 6 January, the day of the Guardians visit, with 90% of those trucks border-ready. It tested 1,081 drivers for Covid that day, with six coming back positive, bringing the number of tests carried out on drivers to 46,563 since the chaos on 23 December.

Just down from Whites truck are another 30 or 40 HGVs also waiting clearance. The French drivers Benjamin Brogniart and Michael Delattre have come from Corby in Northamptonshire with lorries packed with red plastic packaging for industrial batteries.

They have been stuck in the lorry park since 8pm the night before.

Brexit, for us, its not very good, said Brogniart.

Another French driver, Alexandre Tronet, joins the conversation. This is what you wanted. You wanted Brexit, he said.

I got here at 6am, he added, putting his waiting time so far at six and a half hours. Again he has to wait until the freight owner sends over the correct customs paperwork to authorities stationed at the Eurotunnel border post.

You make the decisions at the last minute. They should have had this ready in the autumn and this would be running properly, he said.

Eurotunnel said so far Brexit had gone smoothly with the vast majority fully compliant with the new trading arrangements, and it was determined to help British exporters get to grips with the system.

Our aim is to have people spend as little time as possible here. Apart from teething problems, everything has gone very smoothly, said John Keefe, the director of public affairs.

For the few trucks that are stopped, we have our Eurotunnel border service to help them through the process. They meet the drivers on arrival, help them go through the paperwork or inspection and help them gather whatever documents are missing so that they can leave here as soon as possible. They also make sure the drivers, the haulage companies and the traders understand what was missing and what they need to have with them to avoid stopping next time.

These maiden Brexit disruptions offer a glimpse of the potential for delays when traffic levels at Dover and Calais return to normal levels at the end of this month. Eurotunnel said it had been Brexit-ready since March 2019 when it first put the infrastructure now being deployed in place at a cost of 47m.

It already operates an array of controls and checks on those travelling the other way, including safety checks using sniffer dogs. They are deployed on every truck at the pit stop inspection point, trained to identify stowaways.

The stop now also provides an opportunity to scan drivers paperwork for exports into Britain.

On the other side of the channel, the UK has delayed the imposition of Brexit checks for six months: some of the lorry parks are not ready, nor is business, as the Brexit deal was only sealed on Christmas Eve.

It has put in place mitigation measures to avert a repeat of the mayhem on Kent roads before Christmas. One of those is the Michael Gove-inspired Kent Access Permit (KAP) being called the Brexit passport which is issued electronically to trucks whose suppliers have to testify they have all their paperwork for the Channel crossing in order.

The Cabinet Office said 18,000 KAPs had been issued so far and around 700 lorries have been turned away from the border with a further 150 fines handed out for non-compliance.

One of our guys was fined 300, said Delattre. The driver was caught not by police, but when he went to the Ashford HMRC park to get a Covid test, which are now mandatory before boarding either a train or ferry to France.

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'I'm stuck here': lorry drivers in Calais begin to feel effects of Brexit - The Guardian

Brexit deal has 'smashed people's dreams' says fishing boss

Bloomberg reports that a deal was set to be announced in a matter before days before Trump protestors stormed Capitol Hill on Wednesday night. It is understood the US and the UK were racing to reach a limited trade agreement before the political crisis in Washington.This blog is no longer live, please follow here for the latest updates.

The deal would end tariffs on some UK imports, including on Scotch Whisky.

The goal between both sides, however, is to resolve parts of a longstanding transatlantic dispute over illegal aid toBoeing Co.andAirbus SE.

Sources told Bloomberg the deal should have been struck but the chaos surrounding the riots in Capitol Hill has put a spanner in the works.

And UK officials are in a rush to push it through before Joe Biden takes the White House.

The Biden administration will be battling with other issues to do with the transition.

It comes as Mr Johnson had a phone call with 250 business leaders to help him decide which EU rules to keep and which to ditch now that Britain has finally left the EU.

Downing Street said in a statement that Mr Johnson was committed to working with British businesses to realise the vast opportunities on offer as the UK forges an independent future.

Mr Johnson was joined on the call yesterday by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Business Secretary Alok Sharma, and Trade Secretary Liz Truss.

FOLLOW EXPRESS.CO.UK FOR LIVE UPDATES:

10pm update: Gove warns traders to prepare for significant additional disruption at the border

Traders have been warned that there is likely to be significant additional disruption at the UK border in the coming weeks following Brexit customs changes.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove assured traders and hauliers that efforts to assist them would be redoubled but highlighted that all paperwork should be in order.

It comes as major parcel courier DPD paused some delivery services into Europe - including Ireland - because of pressure caused by new post-Brexit red tape.

7.15pm update:Brexit fury: Switzerland anger after EU 'took Swiss hostage'

Brexit trading relations with the EU could take a turn for the worse if the UK endures similar disagreements with Brussels as Switzerland.

Prime MinisterBoris Johnsonwas eventually able to secure aBrexittrade deal with theEU, and boasted that it will help Britain take control of its borders, laws and waters.

But one key issue could come back to bite the UK, just as it did Switzerland during their negotiations with the EU over an institutional framework agreement.

Negotiations for the partnership began in 2014, but still Bern and Brussels continue to work together on only a patchwork of treaties.

Tensions were high in January 2018, when Switzerland's financial services sector was "taken hostage" by the EU.

All political parties in the country united to stand against Brussels after EU regulation dictated that Switzerland must accept rulings by EU judges as the condition for services access to the single market.

6pm update:EU preparing to seize on UK finance centre in Brexit punishment

The EU could "put the squeeze" on the UK as they no longer "tolerate" Britain being Europe's "financial centre", a Conservative peer has warned.

Britain's position as the "financial centre for theEuropean Union" despite leaving the bloc is going to be under threat, aConservativepeer has warned.

Lord Horam was addressing the House of Lords explaining why he thought theBrexitdeal was "not a good [one]" for the UK.

He also claimed the country could see a "pretty serious" hit on the financial services industry.

Lord Horam told peers: "Like most of us I imagine, I was relieved in the end that there was the deal.

"But I am afraid it is not a good deal for the UK.

"The European Union gets all it wants on trade and we get nothing on services which we all now know relentlessly are 80 percent of our economy.

"That could be pretty serious for our financial services industry."

4.00pm update:Brexit deal to leave UK taxpayers STILL paying into EU budget

Brexit Britain is not as independent as Boris Johnson promised it would be when he vowed to deliver an "oven-ready" Brexit deal with the EU, a political expert has claimed.

Speaking to DW, political scientist Tanja Borzel claimed Boris Johnson has failed to deliver on his promise to "take back control" as she analysed theBrexitdeal the Prime Minister has signed with the EU in December.

Ms Borzel argued that as the UK will still be forced to comply with some EU laws and to pay into the Brussels annual budget, Britain is yet to be independent from the bloc.

She said: "Boris Johnson has not delivered because he promised that Britain would take back control and I don't see that Britain has actually taken back control."

2.09pm update:Retailers in Northern Ireland 'experiencing disruption after Brexit'

Major retailers into Northern Ireland - including M&S and Tesco - have experienced temporary disruption while they adapt to post-Brexit arrangements, the industry said.

Marks and Spencer has paused delivery of a small proportion of product lines to ensure its lorries are not turned away at ports like Belfast or Larne.

There may be less choice but firms are working hard to continue to provision the country, a representative of most major supermarkets said.

Customs declarations need to be made for many items arriving in Northern Ireland.

An M&S spokesman said: "We have served customers in Northern Ireland for over 50 years and our priority is to make sure we continue to deliver the same choice and great quality range that our loyal customers have always enjoyed.

"Stores have been receiving regular deliveries this week, however following the UK's recent departure from the EU, we are transitioning to new processes and we're working closely with our partners and suppliers to ensure customers can continue to enjoy a great range of products."

1.20pm update:Brexit revenge plot: UK braces for border chaos as Macron 'reads riot act'- details leaked

UK hauliers have been warned tougher customs controls will be implemented from Monday, prompting fears of significant disruption at the borders. French officials are expected to ramp up checks after lorries arriving from the UK were found not to be fully compliant with EU trade rules, particularly on phytosanitary (SPS) controls on agrifoods.

The warnings were made during two conference calls between British industry bodies and UK Government agencies on Thursday, according to the Financial Times.

The paper reports the French had read the riot act to port and ferry operations after initial checks showed the vast majority of lorries arriving from the UK breached EU trade rules.

As a result UK trade groups and senior Whitehall officials are braced for more rigorous checks next week.

One senior UK official said the government was holding its breath for more significant disruption at British ports in the coming days.

12.30pm update: Fury as Brexit deal with EU forces UK pay billions into Eurocrat pension pots for 44 YEARS

Brexit does not mean Britains financial contribution to the EU is over, with taxpayers facing the prospect of paying 10billion into the blocs pension pot over the course of the next 44 years, a shocking new analysis has indicated.

And among those who will benefit are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, her predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker, EU negotiator Michel Barnier and ardent Brexit critic Guy Verhofstadt - with former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib describing the situation as a travesty.

The analysis, prepared by the Facts4EU.org website, uses figures published by the Office for Budget Responsibility in 2018 to show that the UKs contribution will be at least 9.5billion.

However, since then the European Commissions financial accounts for 2019 show a 15.5billion (17.2billion) increase in the net liabilities of its pension scheme.

11.51am update:Belgium desperate for post-Brexit trade with UK

Belgium has stated its intention to negotiate a trade deal with the UK as countries around the world quickly line up to do business with Brexit Britain.

Departing the EU means the UK is free to negotiate new and improved trade deals with countries around the world, with dozens already in place with the likes of Japan, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland.

Negotiations with the likes of Canada and Australia are in progress, while talks with the US are expected to resume this year as Joe Biden takes over from Donald Trump as President.

But just a week after Brexit was completed, Belgium has said it wants to negotiate a series of bilateral agreements with the UK, as permitted by the terms of the trade deal between the EU and Britain.

The historic agreement enables the remaining 27 EU member states to conclude deals with the UK within the framework of shared competences with Brussels.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said avoiding a no-deal outcome by concluding a zero tariff, zero quota trade agreement is an "excellent thing for Belgium, which has traditionally had a trade surplus vis--vis the United Kingdom".

11am update: Parcel courier warns of post-Brexit delays

A major parcel courier has paused some delivery services into Europe - including Ireland - because of pressure caused by new post-Brexit red tape.

DPD became the latest company to warn that Boris Johnson's divorce settlement with Brussels had led to more complex processes at the border.

DPD said that up to 20 percent of parcels had incorrect or incomplete data, meaning they had to be returned to customers, and announced a pause to its road service into Europe and Ireland until Wednesday.

The company said in a statement: "The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement resulted in more complex processes, and additional customs data requirements for parcels destined for Europe. This, along with delays and congestion at UK ports for channel crossings, has placed extra pressure on our turnaround and transit times.

"We are seeing up to 20 percent of parcels with incorrect or incomplete data attached, resulting in these parcels needing to be returned to customers, so that the required data can be provided.

"In view of this unprecedented set of circumstances we believe that it is only right to pause and review our road service into Europe, including the Republic of Ireland. During this time, we will work with our customers to validate and correct the data we have in our system, to reduce the delays and enable us to resume normal service.

This pause in our operation will be as short as possible and we intend to recommence this service on Wednesday January 13."

10.22am update: 'EU caved on Brexit' after Merkel panicked about 80bn trade surplus and 'stepped in'

The European Union has been furiously attacked for its Brexit talks with the UK, with Angela Merkel accused of being terrified about a potential 80billion trade surplus and piling the pressure on Brussels to avoid a disastrous no-deal outcome for Germany.

A hard Brexit would have cost the EU as much as 33billion in annual exports, according to economic research by insurer Allianz in November, with Germany, home to the bloc's biggest economy and fourth-largest in the world, among those hit the hardest.

Charles-Henri Gallois, President of the political movement Generation Frexit, campaigning for France to become one of the next countries to leave the bloc, branded the EU a "total disaster".

He believes the huge 80billion trade surplus should have seen the EU pushing for a Brexit deal right from the start, but raged Brussels had "acted like a sect that wants to punish the member that wants to take back his freedom".

Mr Gallois believes Germany was terrified of a no-deal outcome, forcing them to pile late pressure onto Brussels to strike an agreement, which ultimately saw the bloc's negotiators cave in.

9.49am update:High numbers of vehicles refused at UK-French ports due to incorrect paperwork

A high number of vehicles travelling from Britain to France have been refused entry or delayed due to having the incorrect paperwork after Brexit, logistics group DFDS said on Friday.

Trade flows between Britain and the European Union have remained low this week after many companies stockpiled goods in late 2020 to avoid having to cross the new customs border in the first week after Britain left the EU's orbit on Dec. 31.

DFDS said on Twitter: "We are experiencing a high volume of vehicles being refused and delayed at the Ports of Calais, Dunkirk and Dover, due to incorrect paperwork being presented at check-in."

9.15am update: UK borders may become busier in days and weeks to come

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said "busy times" may return to UK borders as firms get to grips with new paperwork after the exit from the EU single market.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The Cabinet Office is working very closely with businesses. It's not the case that goods are stopping flowing.

"I was studying, as I do by the hour at the moment, the flow at Kent and it's been picking up every single day of this year so far and you're seeing goods crossing the short straits and flowing perfectly smoothly."

But he was pressed on whether pressures at the border will build because currently firms are avoiding it.

Mr Shapps said: "It's been a quieter start to the year, a lot of that's to do with anticipations, so the stockpiling that's going on."

He added that the chaos seen last month while the post-Brexit transition period was still in place was due to the French closing the border because of concerns over the UK strain of coronavirus and was "nothing to do with the change of paperwork".

"We may well see busy times again but actually at the moment the border is in fact flowing and it's flowing very smoothly," he said.

8.26am update: Boris told to use new Brexit powers to BAN EU supertrawlers

Boris Johnson must use the new Brexit powers available to the UK following the departure from the European Union to ban monster supertrawlers from the bloc plundering British seas, the latest Express.co.uk poll has revealed.

In the latest Express.co.uk poll, readers voted for Mr Johnson to use these new powers to ban huge supertrawlers from the bloc plundering British waters and hoovering up fish in those seas.

The poll, which ran from 3pm on Thursday January 7 until 7am on Friday January 8, asked: "What should Boris Johnson use new powers for after leaving EU?"

The options were available to readers were: Ban EU supertrawlers; VAT cuts on household energy bills; give UK science a huge cash boost through state aid; sign huge free trade deals; toughen UK borders; "don't know" and "other".

Forty-four percent or 2,291 of the 5,168 readers that voted said Mr Johnson should ban EU supertrawlers in British waters, while 28 percent (1,405 readers) would like the Prime Minister to toughen the country's borders and make it a safer country.

Read the original here:

Brexit LIVE: UK and US close to major trade deal - Race against time before Biden arrives - Daily Express

Consumers will bear the cost of the trouble facing traders following the imposition of Brexit red tape, a senior retail chief has warned.

Stuart Rose, chairman of supermarket delivery company Ocado, said the delays and difficulties in international shipping caused by added paperwork meant the cost will be passed on to the consumer.

A haulage firm boss, meanwhile, predicted the customs changes would lead to a bloodbath for the sector with delivery delays eating into already tight profit margins.

It comes after UK Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove warned businesses and hauliers on Friday that there is likely to be significant additional disruption at the UK border as a result of increasing trade traffic, particularly at Dover.

The trouble already experienced following the end of the transition period with the European Union on December 31 has led to major parcel courier DPD pausing some delivery services into Europe, including Ireland.

Supermarket giant Marks & Spencer said the new regulations are set to significantly impact its overseas ventures in Ireland, the Czech Republic and France.

Mr Rose, the ex-Remain campaign chief and former M&S chairman, told BBC Radio 4s Today: You cant interfere with a finely honed, 50-year legacy supply chain and expect it to all run smoothly on day one.

The issue of transport and hauliers not wanting to send their lorries here is because they are worried about their lorries being stuck and worried about lost profit, which means therefore the cost will be passed on to the consumer.

You will see some short-term shortages but lets be clear, there is not going to be a famine.

Food will continue to come in, although at this time of the year 50-80%-plus of our fruit and veg comes in from Europe and beyond and a lot of that comes in through Dover on trucks.

Were talking about fresh product which is perishable. If it doesnt get out within 24 hours, it goes off, it rots, it gets thrown away thats lost profit, thats a real problem for businesses both ways.

Lorenzo Zaccheo, managing director of Kent-based haulage firm Alcaline UK, said he was expecting deliveries to take two-and-a-half days longer than last year when the country was still following EU rules.

He said vehicles were currently getting stuck at ports for seven hours and that European hauliers were turning down work in the UK, even when offered twice the usual rate.

Mr Zaccheo told Today he thought the problems would go on for months longer, adding: First of all there are not enough clearing agents out there then youve got Covid, with some of them self-isolating and everything else.

It is just a complete mess. This is going to be a bloodbath. Cost wise as weve seen this week the cost of transport will treble into the United Kingdom because everybody is refusing to come.

We offered twice as much and they still dont want to come.

Rachel Reeves, Labours shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said transport companies had been left wrangling with completely overwhelmed systems without any help.

The British government has promised to redouble efforts to inform traders of the paperwork required now that the UK is outside of EU rules.

Boris Johnsons Brexit deal ensured free trade on goods could continue but being outside the single market and customs union has still meant added checks on cargo entering Europe.

As well as requiring the correct paperwork, including export declarations and the extra certificates needed for products such as plant and animal products, hauliers must also secure a negative Covid-19 test and a Kent Access Permit before embarking on their travels onwards to Europe.

The latest government figures show that around 700 lorries have been turned away from the border since new rules came into force and about 150 fines have been handed out for non-compliance with new rules designed to reduce truck queues in Kent.

But officials have warned that those numbers could increase as the flow of lorries heading through Kent increases, with traffic drastically reduced at present.

Over the past week, there has been an average of 1,584 lorries per day attempting border crossings, which is only around 40% of historical norms, according to the Cabinet Office.

Read more:

Consumers warned they will bear the cost of Brexit border delays - Irish Examiner

Ro/pax ferries at Holyhead Port (file image)

By The Maritime Executive 01-08-2021 02:57:00

Ireland's customs agency has introduced a workaround for British exporters who are having trouble completing the paperwork required for international shipments between the UK and Ireland. Before January 1, both were within the EU customs union and trade could pass between them with few impediments; now that the Brexit transition period has ended, shippers must complete extensive customs declarations for cross-border movement of goods.

While significant numbers of businesses are properly submitting the newly-required Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) required by Ireland's Revenue Commissioners, the agency "recognizes that some businesses are experiencing difficulties in lodging their safety and security ENS declaration in respect of RoRo goods movements."

Due to the disruption caused by businesses' difficulties in completing the forms, top Britain-to-Ireland ferry operator Stena Line has canceled 12 sailings over the next five days. Freight volumes have fallen and ro/ro ferries have been running at low capacity, the firm says, and trucks carrying cargoes without the right paperwork have been denied permission to board at the key Irish Sea port of Holyhead.

In response, Ireland's revenue service is giving shippers a special code to use for their Pre-Boarding Notification (PBN) paperwork when they can't create one the usual way "due to the absence of key information or because of other impediments." This bypass allows them to complete customs formalities and get their goods on board ferries. "Take-up of this temporary facilitation will be a signal to Revenue that you need support," the agency told shippers.

"It is clear that many were not as prepared as they thought or significantly underestimated what was involved in being Brexit-ready," a Revenue spokesperson told Reuters.

Customs challenges driven by Brexit have been predicted for years, and these difficulties are beginning to manifest on the UK's cross-channel ferry routes as well.

"We are experiencing a high volume of vehicles being refused and delayed at the Ports of Calais, Dunkerque and Dover, due to incorrect paperwork being presented at check-in," cautioned ferry operator DFDS on Friday.

Cabinet minister Michael Gove said Friday that the UK government would "redouble our efforts to communicate the precise paperwork that's required," but he warned that "in the weeks ahead, we expect that there will be significant additional disruption - particularly on the Dover-Calais route."

Truckers and passengers face an additional hurdle on France-bound routes: as the UK enters its third COVID-19 lockdown, all individuals are required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours prior to boarding. All are advised to obtain a free test at one of three dozen available sites before arriving at Dover in order to reduce congestion.

Read the rest here:

Brexit Customs Problems Begin at Holyhead and Dover - The Maritime Executive

There is a shortage of Percy Pig sweets in Marks and Spencer: now we know Brexit is real. And Michael Gove, the minister for ensuring everything runs smoothly, has been on TV warning of the potential for significant disruption.

Until now, the idea of trade friction has been an abstract concept, hard to imagine, not least because the EU trade treaty is so unusual in purposely making trade more difficult. As minister for ensuring things run smoothly, Gove was in the awkward position of preparing for arrangements that hadnt been finalised, affecting systems so complex he couldnt easily predict where the worst problems would happen and all for a policy he had championed.

It turns out that queues of lorries in Kent are not or not yet the main problem. That may be because hauliers are waiting to see how the border checks work before they resume sending the usual volumes of traffic through Dover and Folkestone. Instead, it is the rules-of-origin admin that is causing trouble, requiring tariffs to be imposed on some goods imported to the UK and re-exported to the EU. Tariff-free doesnt feel so tariff-free when you look at the small print, said Steve Rowe, M&S chief executive.

Thus DPD, the courier company, has suspended deliveries to the EU for five days while it gets on top of the paperwork (although I assume its mostly computerised). Rachel Reeves, Goves Labour shadow, has been quick with the press release: This government said it was prepared for a smooth transition but instead major carriers like DPD are left wrangling with completely overwhelmed systems without any help.

On the whole, though, the air is mercifully free of told you sos. In part, that is because there is a lot else going on, from the dying days of Donald Trumps kitsch empire in Washington to the state of coronavirus emergency in London. But mostly I think it is because even the most ardent Remainers recognise that getting to grips with new procedures is mostly a temporary setback rather than a fundamental argument against leaving the EU.

The fundamental argument is that, even when we have adjusted to the new rules, and to the series of specific disablements, such as not being able to export live eels or seed potatoes, trade with the EU will be slightly more difficult. Tony Connelly, the brilliant Europe editor of Irish broadcaster RTE, has written about the new dawn of trade friction for those who are interested in the detail, but the simple truth is easily extracted: that making trade more difficult makes it more expensive and imposes a cost on the British economy.

Here I think some Remainers get ahead of themselves although it was interesting that Rosie Duffield, the Labour MP who wants to rejoin the EU, this week accepted that this is not a realistic policy for the party for at least five years. The effect of the temporary disruptions to imports and exports will dissipate, while the long-term costs of Brexit will be invisible. Once M&S has sorted out the logistics of Percy Pig distribution, most people wont notice much change as a result of leaving the EU. From the point of view of Rejoiners, the problem is that Brexit will make us poorer than we would otherwise have been, not poorer than we are now. It might take decades for people to feel that they are slipping behind their continental and Irish neighbours.

For that reason, the well known opinion polling findings suggesting that a clear majority now think Britain was wrong to vote to leave may not mean that much. More important now is how many people would go so far as to support an application to rejoin. We got the first hint of that before the EU deal was done, when Kantar asked people between 10 and 14 December: If a new referendum was held on EU membership, how would you vote? Excluding the large number (19 per cent) who said they wouldnt vote presumably mostly in protest against the idea of a new referendum or who didnt know, people were split down the middle, with 51 per cent saying stay out and 49 per cent saying apply to join.

I suspect that support for rejoining is wide but shallow, in that the numbers who think rejoining is a priority or even that it would be a realistic possibility would be much lower. Nevertheless, support for rejoining is high enough to make me wonder again at Ed Daveys refusal to identify the Liberal Democrats unambiguously with the policy.

I doubt that public support for rejoining the EU will grow much in the next few years, but the question still has the power to divide parties although we have now reached one of those crossover points where henceforth it will be the opposition parties that are divided while the Conservatives are united.

As it is, Davey and Keir Starmer are jointly leading the Remainer shuffle away from their convictions, both hoping that if they dont say anything their parties will stop banging on about Europe. David Cameron can tell them how well that is likely to go.

Read more from the original source:

Now Brexit has actually happened, will people change their minds about it? - The Independent