Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
The UK faced threats of food insecurity and panicked shopping before the Christmas holidays as European nations restricted trade and travel to protect themselves from a resurgent coronavirus, offering Britain a preview of the border chaos that would come in the absence of an agreement on Brexit.
Fearing a new strain of the virus that spread rapidly and forced a strict blockade across England, France on Sunday suspended travel from the UK for 48 hours and Germany stopped flights arriving from Britain. The crisis gave urgency to the negotiations for a trade agreement with the European Union that remained at a critical stage after the weekend talks. The French government will want a stricter test regime before lifting the blockade.
A truck stops at the port of Dover, UK, on December 21st.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
On Sunday afternoon, the Port of Dover stopped goods transported by truck to France while allowing unaccompanied cargo to continue moving. While traffic to the UK is unaffected, truckers often deliver supplies in both directions and the latest outbreak in the heart of the country may deter them from entering the island.
The disruptions are exposing Britain’s trade vulnerabilities just like a 4-and-a-half-year odyssey of letting the EU move from political rhetoric to economic reality. Business groups facing catastrophic losses urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government to act soon, with 18,000 members’ logistics UK calling for fast testing of Covid-19 from truckers leaving the country as the fastest way to protect supply chains.
“Evil”
“This is the nightmare before Christmas,” said James Withers, executive director of Scotland’s Food & Drink industry group.
He said there are more than 100 trucks loaded with seafood that should cross the border into the EU, destined for the wholesale Christmas markets of France and Spain that would normally be held on Wednesday. Fears are growing that live seafood will be damaged if kept at the border and the government must act today to ensure transport can continue to move, Withers said.
French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said European nations are working on “a solid health protocol” that will be implemented “in the next few hours”. Container ports and ferry terminals were already congested due to storage prior to the December 31 deadline, which meant a final rupture of the European single market.
What Bloomberg Economics says …
“We now expect the economy to experience a double-dip recession with contract production in both the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2021. The big question posed by the mutated version of the virus and the latest round of restrictions is what comes after Christmas “.
– Dan Hanson, economist
Complete full report, click here
In the UK, officials tried to minimize the urgency of the situation. Jamie Davies, the prime minister’s spokesman, urged the British not to panic about buying groceries and said “we have sturdy supply chains and the case is that most of our food does not enter through the short straits”.
Asked about the vaccine, Davies also said the UK already has “most of this year’s supply” from Pfizer Inc.
Border chaos comes at the end of a year, where Johnson died of the virus and received strong criticism for his response to the pandemic, which has seen the UK suffer the worst outcome of any economy. important, as well as a second death toll only in Italy in Europe.
British supermarket chain J Sainsbury Plc said it is considering using air transport for products from Europe. If the situation doesn’t change, Sainsbury’s will start seeing “gaps” in the next few days stocking up on some fruits and vegetables, said Victoria Durman, head of corporate communications.
Outside Dover, trucks began queuing on the M20 highway when the “Operation Stack” emergency plan was activated with drivers unable to board ferries. According to the website kent.gov.uk, the Department of Transport was also preparing Manston Airport in Kent, which is being reviewed to accommodate up to 4,000 vehicles as part of Britain’s no-agreement planning.
“There could be a period of disruption in some UK ferry ports over the next 48 hours,” said Richard Ballantyne, CEO of the British Ports Association. “We are confident that the UK will continue to supply itself.”
Hammered actions
Travel, leisure and sales shares in the UK fell on Monday due to flight cancellations, while home stays, such as Ocado Group Plc, got a boost. Airlines were the hardest hit, with the father of British Airways IAG SA falls to 20% i Easyjet Plc fell to 18%.
Berenberg economists cut their 2021 growth forecast for the UK last week to 7.3% from 8% due to new blockages. The economic drag of tougher restrictions and trade turmoil will only deepen the hole the country is in and trigger more damage ranging from popular retailers to European airlines that are already in trouble.
Therein lies the political consequences. Johnson abruptly canceled plans to allow families to mingle during the holiday season, as the government warned over the weekend that the new strain of the virus is “out of control.”
There were scenes of panic at the train stations, with people defying the rules of social distancing to get out of the capital.
More than 16 million Britons are now required to stay at home, mainly in London and the south-east of England. The measures ban the mixing of homes in the capital and the south-east, and allow domestic docks to be seen just on Christmas Day in the rest of England.
– With the assistance of Joe Easton, Kitty Donaldson, Deirdre Hipwell and Charlotte Ryan
(Updates with the latest responses from the United Kingdom and France on the health protocol in the second paragraph.)