LONDON – Business groups are calling for more time to adjust to Britain’s new trade deal with the European Union, saying new rules coming into force next week will disrupt more than $ 590 billion in annual trade. goods that previously circulated freely.
The United Kingdom and the EU said on Thursday they had signed an agreement on their future relations, setting the seal on the decision of the 2016 British referendum to leave the bloc. This was a relief for companies that feared that four years of politically charged negotiations could end without a trade pact, which would lead to tariffs on goods for both parties.
But despite the depreciation, for the first time in almost half a century, food, motor vehicles and other goods moving between the EU and the UK will be checked from 1 January and will have to comply separate sets of rules and regulations.
The British government estimates there will be an additional 215 million customs declarations a year, about 600,000 a day, which companies say will take time and cost money to get organized. Some companies will have to pay inspection fees, look for import licenses, and figure out how to account for value added tax. British food and animal exports to the EU will be checked on arrival, while some professional qualifications will no longer be automatically recognized. Some companies claim they still don’t fully know how they will respond because they haven’t seen the details of the trade deal yet.
Predicting long lines in British and European ports, and new processing groups, business groups are now calling on the UK and the EU to help companies navigate change and mitigate new trade frictions, including giving time to companies to adapt to the new rules.