Brexit delays in the EU: how bad are delays with new rules and laws for business?

British pork trucks waiting to be shipped to Germany and stuffed into bratwurst perished in British ports this month while in line for customs clearance.

This is a story that has hardly made a dent in the UK, as the country’s first month outside the EU was overshadowed by the coronavirus and the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths.

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

Businesses tell a different story, one of bureaucracy and delays that add up to higher costs. Elsewhere, hidden under the influence of virus locks, Brexit has seeped into all parts of the economy, affecting everyone, from online buyers to fishermen, car dealers, bankers and farmers.

Some problems can be short-lived as businesses experience the situation. But while the UK is trying to unravel an almost forged economic and trade relationship half a century will delay some friction, causing a long-term economic growth.

“People refer to many of the problems as gum problems,” he said. Sam Lowe, senior fellow at the Center for European Reform in London. “But while businesses will learn how to fill out forms, we need to recognize that new bureaucracy is the new reality and that much more needs to come.”

UK deficit

The virus and the Brexit could shortage factories for raw materials

Source: Confederation of British Industry

The variety of headaches in the first weeks of Brexit was sometimes severe, such as Dutch customs officers seizing a truck ham sandwich due to the new rules for meat and dairy imports. Popular sweets Percy Pig made the news when trader Marks & Spencer Group Plc dealt with new rules on exports to Ireland.

But the changing landscape also poses a question of survival, especially for businesses that have relied on effortless, inexpensive movement of products on and off the continent.

“When the EU started taking ham sandwiches from truck drivers because they said they did not know if the meat met EU standards, it was small and ridiculous,” said Fergus Howie, a pig farmer from Essex who runs the Wicks Manor export business. , said. “It’s really disappointing that they’s so bureaucratic at the border, especially when trade flows to us normally.”

January may not even have given an accurate trade picture. Many companies accumulated in the early days of 2021 to prevent any border chaos, but this stock will not last long.

Government officials acknowledge that logjams could increase as flow through the channel returns to normal levels of around 75%, although they do not expect to reach the worst-case scenarios as last year. They also say that some problems are related to the need for truck drivers to undergo a negative Covid test, rather than the Brexit.

But businesses 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 that causes delays.

Some carriers returned empty to the continent to skip queues, which lifted freight rates for six consecutive weeks, while others Britain completely avoided. France-UK transport volumes sank as companies bypassed Britain by taking direct routes to Europe, such as those launched between Dublin and Amsterdam on Monday. And it will probably get worse when Britain imposes its own customs checks in June.

Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said this week that goods are flowing ‘effectively’. Where there are problems, the government will ‘stop everything to adapt’.

Away from ports, there was also a shock to consumers. British copper buying online from the EU affects import duties. This could raise inflation concerns: households’ prospects for price increases have already been raised.

Price panic

British consumers’ inflation outlook continues to rise

Source: Citigroup, YouGov

For Britain, the quest to leave the EU was to escape what was according to its bureaucracy and crushing rules, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson was given the chance to show the benefits just this week. While EU vaccination campaign Covid-19 was far behind in the UK, Johnson pointed to a “speed and agility” that would not be possible in the bloc.

“We could do things differently and better in some ways,” he told lawmakers.

The UK left with almost no trade agreement and only agreed on Christmas Eve. Even then, some industries remain in the dark about their future.

Finances were not included in the talks and are now counting on a separate agreement that could be years. Meanwhile, the City of London sees parts of its business – such as equities and derivative trading – slipping away.

Disappearing vacancies

Public jobs in London have declined every year since the Brexit vote

Source: Morgan McKinley

In the first month, issues remained very acute, especially for Northern Ireland, which was a major obstacle in the Brexit talks. Images of empty shelves at supermarkets appeared in early January and J Sainsbury Plc had to keep competitors’ products in stock.

Northern Ireland borders controversy unexpectedly resurfaced late Friday when the EU said it would trigger a Brexit clause as part of new vaccine export controls, before being repatriated.

Even fishing, which has become a symbol of the British struggle to ‘take control’ and a fixed point in negotiations, was an early victim, despite pro-Brexit legislator Jacob Rees-Mogg saying that the fish which is now in British waters is ‘happier’. ”

The trade agreement regains rights to far less of the British waters than had been hoped for. Some fishermen have smaller quotas for the fish that are popular at home, such as the staples and haddock for staples. Exporters are particularly hard hit because their businesses tend to group different products that require the different, new paperwork – customs, health and catch certificates.

Eventually, the UK took a gamble and increased trade with its largest and closest commercial partner in the United States hope it will be able to force new and better trade agreements with other countries. For businesses transporting goods between the EU and the UK, the consequences start to play out first.

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

– With help from Dara Doyle and Alex Morales