ports

Watch this space. Just because the supermarkets are full(ish) at the moment I fear the rubber is going to hit the road in a very negative way quite soon, very possibly exacerbated into intransigence by the virus war. I also suspect it’s those businesses involved in manufacturing and food and drink which will be hit hardest and which as any aficionado of rural economies knows are most heavily represented in rural areas. This story tells us:

The leaders of Britain’s five largest business groups have warned the government that firms face “substantial difficulties” at UK ports since Brexit, with the prospect of a “significant loss of business” if the situation is allowed to continue.

Following a round table meeting on Thursday evening with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, a letter was issued by the CBI, the British Chambers of Commerce, the manufacturers’ group Make UK, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors.

The letter said the government needed to act quickly to overcome “the sizeable obstacles” faced by exporters.

With hold-ups at UK ports worsening and many lorries making return journeys empty following difficulties obtaining customs certificates, the business groups said ministers needed to act quickly.

The letter was published after Gove appeared to play down the significance of the difficulties faced by businesses struggling to overcome customs barriers, and what they described as a lack of coherent advice from government departments about new EU trading rules following Brexit.

Gove said after the meeting, which the business leaders believed was private, it is understood, that “some businesses are facing challenges with specific aspects of our new trading relationship with the EU”.

He added: “I want to let them know that we will pull out all the stops to help them adjust.”

The business groups said: “A range of problems were discussed, including the substantial difficulties faced by firms adapting to the new customs processes, sizeable obstacles to moving goods through the Dover-Calais route and the shortage of informed advice from both government and specialist advisers alongside a number of others.”

They warned that grace periods agreed with the EU would expire over the next two months at a time when cross-border traffic, which is usually low in January, was due to grow. Unless measures were put in place to smooth customs procedures, the situation would deteriorate, they said.