Brexit delays in the EU: How negative are delays for companies with new rules and laws?

Lots of British pork trucks waiting to be shipped to Germany and stuffed into intoxicants died in UK ports this month while standing in line for customs clearance.

This is a story that barely caused a rift in the UK, as the country’s first month outside the EU was overshadowed by the coronavirus and the cruel milestone of 100,000 dead.

With freight traffic well below usual levels, thanks in part to storage, the overall effects of Brexit were also less visibly dramatic than expected. The government avoided the embarrassment of several thousand trucks queuing in Kent and was able to get the victory for its planning.

Companies tell a different story, that of bureaucracy and the delays that add up Until higher costs. Elsewhere, hidden under the impact of virus blockages, Brexit leaked to all parts of the economy, affecting everyone from online shoppers to fishermen, car dealers, bankers and farmers.

Some of the problems can be short-lived as companies can control the situation. But as the UK tries to unravel an almost forged economic and trade relationship half a century, some friction will persist, which will cause a drag economic development.

“People refer to many of the problems as teething problems,” he said Sam Lowe, senior member of the Center for European Reform in London. “While companies will learn how to fill out forms, we should recognize that the new reality is the new bureaucracy and that there is so much more to come.”

Scarcity of the United Kingdom

The virus and Brexit could leave factories lacking raw materials

Source: British Confederation of Industry

The range of headaches in the first weeks of Brexit was sometimes a farce, such as Dutch customs agents who confiscated a trucker ham sandwich due to new rules on imports of meat and dairy products. Popular candies Percy Pig came to the news when retailer Marks & Spencer Group Plc was dealing with new rules on exports to Ireland.

But the altered landscape also raises a question of survival, especially for companies that rely on a hassle-free, low-cost product movement on and off the continent.

“When the EU started taking out ham sandwiches to truck drivers, because they say they don’t know if the meat meets EU standards, it was small and ridiculous,” said Fergus Howie, an Essex pig farmer, who runs the Wicks Manor export business. “Being so bureaucratic at the border is really disappointing, especially when their trade with us flows normally.”

January may not even have had an accurate business landscape. Many companies stored to avoid any border chaos in the early days of 2021, but these inventories will not last long.

Government officials acknowledge that logjams could mount as multichannel flows return to normal levels from 75% today, although they do not expect them to reach the worst-case scenarios modeled last year. They also say some difficulties are related to the need for truckers to have a negative Covid test instead of Brexit.

But companies say what was once simple is now cumbersome. Documentation, especially for loads with different types of goods from various suppliers, known as grouping, is one of the problems causing delays.

Some carriers returned to the empty continent to skip the queues, which raised transport rates for six weeks in a row, while others he totally avoided Britain. France-UK transport volumes plummeted as companies overlooked Britain taking direct routes to Europe, such as the one launched on Monday between Dublin and Amsterdam. And this is likely to get worse when Britain introduces its own customs controls in June.

Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said this week that goods flow “efficiently.” When there are problems, the government “will make all the stops to help them adjust.”

Outside the ports, there was also a shock to consumers. British buyers EU online shopping is affecting import duties. This may fuel inflation concerns: Households ’outlook on price increases is already high.

Price panic

UK consumer inflation outlook remains high

Source: Citigroup, YouGov

For Britain, the desire to leave the EU was to escape what it said was its bureaucracy and its crushing rules, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a chance to show the benefits this week. With the EU’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign lagging far behind that of the UK, Johnson noted a “speed and agility” that would not have been possible on the block.

“We’ve been able to do things differently and better in some way,” he told lawmakers.

The UK almost left without any trade deal, and only reached an agreement on Christmas night. Even then, some industries remain in the dark about their future.

Finances were not included in the talks and now have an independent deal that could take years. Meanwhile, the city of London sees parts of its business, such as shares and derivatives trading: escape.

The vacancies disappear

Financial job offers in London have been declining every year since the Brexit vote

Source: Morgan McKinley

In the first month, issues have proved especially serious for Northern Ireland, which was a major obstacle in talks on Brexit. Images of empty shelves appeared in supermarkets in early January and J Sainsbury Plc was forced to store rival products.

The border dispute with Northern Ireland it reappeared unexpectedly on Friday afternoon, when the EU said it would trigger a Brexit clause as part of new vaccine export controls, before backing down later.

Even fishing, which became a symbol of Britain’s battle to “regain control” and a turning point in the negotiations, has been an early victim, despite the insistence of pro-Brexit lawmaker Jacob Rees -Mogg, that the fish that are now in British waters are “happier.” ”

The trade agreement restored rights to far fewer British waters than had been expected. Some anglers will end up with smaller quotas for popular fish at home, such as staples of cod and haddock. Exporters are especially affected because their shipments tend to group several products that require the most different new procedures: customs, health and capture certificates.

Ultimately, the UK has opted for and increased trade with its largest and closest trading partner hope it will be able to force new and better trade agreements with other countries. For companies transporting goods between the EU and the UK, the consequences are just beginning to take place.

“Proximity is important,” the former UK trade negotiator said David Henig. “Seamless trade is a thing of the past.”

– With the assistance of Dara Doyle and Alex Morales