Police speak to a driver outside his truck in a protest in London on Jan 18 against red tape affecting deliveries. (ALASTAIR GRANT / AP)
The cost of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union became apparent on the weekend when it emerged that the volume of exports passing through British ports may have plummeted by 68 percent.
The shocking size of the drop was first reported by The Observer newspaper, which quoted a survey from the Road Haulage Association, comparing exports in January to those from 12 months ago. The association said the fall was "mostly as a result of problems caused by Brexit".
It said its members had noted a dramatic reduction in the amount of traffic on cross-Channel ferries and in the tunnel beneath the Strait of Dover
It said its members had noted a dramatic reduction in the amount of traffic on cross-Channel ferries and in the tunnel beneath the Strait of Dover.
The association's chief executive, Richard Burnett, said in a letter to Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove that transport companies desperately need the government to cut red tape, so it becomes easier to export products.
"I find it deeply frustrating and annoying that ministers have chosen not to listen to the industry and experts," he told The Observer.
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Burnett said the UK should also increase the number of customs agents it employs, from the 10,000 in place now to around 50,000.
He said they would be able to help exporters with the extra paperwork that has followed the UK leaving the EU, which officially happened on Jan 31, 2020, but whose impact was not felt until Jan 1, 2021, because of the post-Brexit transition period.
The Guardian newspaper added that in addition to the fall in the volume of exports, the association said around 70 percent of trucks that enter the UK from the EU carrying products return empty.
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More chaos feared
Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the British Ports Association, told The Guardian he has also noticed a sharp fall in exports. He said chaos at British ports could get even worse after the July 1, when the UK plans to start full checks on imports from the EU.
Sky News reported an unnamed government spokesperson had said London does not accept the 68 percent claim. The spokesperson said the government "had intensive engagement" with the road haulage industry and that teething problems would be ironed out. "Thanks to the hard work of hauliers and traders to prepare for change, disruption at the border has, so far, been minimal and freight movements are now close to normal levels, despite the COVID-19 pandemic," the spokesperson said.
The claim on EU exports follows comments last week by Norman Lamont, a former chancellor of the exchequer under prime minister John Major, in which he said the amount of post-Brexit red tape had made most business between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK unviable.
Lamont said the situation was caused by the fact that, under the terms of the Brexit divorce deal, Northern Ireland is following EU customs rules, while the rest of the UK is not.
