More bureaucracy, more costs and collapse at the borders: the British Parliament dismantles Brexit optimism

The Public Accounts Committee of the British Parliament has warned Boris Johnson's government on Wednesday that it has a lot of work to do to reduce the negative consequences that Brexit has brought with it.

The impact that the pandemic has had on the economy, international trade and the transit of goods and travelers for almost two years has camouflaged the problems caused by leaving the EU, which on December 31, 2020 was already a definitive legal reality. .

But it has not covered them completely.

"The new controls imposed on the movement of goods from the United Kingdom to the European Union have imposed additional costs for companies and have affected the flow of international trade," concludes the commission's report,

(Exit from the EU: The UK Border after the Transition Period).

The text analyzes the problems that have arisen to date, but, above all, it focuses its warnings on the inconveniences that are anticipated on the near horizon.

While Brussels fully implemented, since the end of the transition period, its customs and health controls for products from the United Kingdom, the Johnson Government has been granting itself grace periods - up to three times - to extend compliance with its obligations.

In conclusion, it will not be until the middle of this year when the import of EU products will be subject to strict control.

“[The Government] must now focus on preparing international trade operators and carriers in the European Union for the import controls that will be imposed throughout 2022,” the commission warns in its report.

Regarding British companies, the commission emphasizes the data provided by the National Statistics Office.

In the first and second quarters of 2021, when the effects of the pandemic began to abate, trade between the UK and the EU fell by 25% and 15%, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2018 , the year in which it is considered that there was full normality prior to the emergence of Brexit and the coronavirus.

"These were falls much higher than that of the United Kingdom's trade with other areas of the world," the report says.

Many businesses have had to face additional costs derived from the bureaucratic processing of customs declarations.

Faced with the capacity and ability of large companies to manage these new obligations with their own personnel, small and medium-sized businesses have had to hire specialized intermediaries to help them overcome the new obstacles.

The British Tax and Customs Agency (HMRC) already estimated in 2019 that the new controls would entail an extra annual cost for companies of almost 18,000 million euros, and, as the commission points out in its report, the figure It has not yet been officially reviewed, "although the HRMC has indicated that it believes the cost will be lower."

Agri-food companies, which export live animals to the EU,

border chaos

The restrictions imposed on the movement of people during the pandemic have drastically reduced the volume of international travel.

The gradual recovery, during 2022, of the usual passenger figures is going to cause a serious problem at the land borders —due to road traffic through the English Channel— of Dover and Folkestone.

The European Union plans to definitively implement its

border control system in the first half of this year , with which it will update and standardize the identification of travelers with biometric data (fingerprints and recognition facial), which will be registered and shared in a data computer network.

While most airports already have the logistics and machines to carry out this control, the problem can arise with truckers, private vehicles or even buses that transport passengers.

The new system will compulsorily require people to leave the vehicles for the recognition process, which will mean added time.

“Independent mathematical models indicate that any delay of two minutes at the border can end up creating traffic queues of more than 50 kilometers.

Some friction is inevitable after the UK leaves the EU, but the new system could prove disastrous for supply chains as interconnected as the UK's," said Sarah Laouadi, EU Policy Director. from LogisticsUK,

the most important employers association in the British logistics industry.

The parliamentary committee finally points out in its report the problems that have arisen around the application of the Northern Ireland Protocol, especially with regard to the transfer of products from Great Britain to the island of Ireland, but gives a vote of confidence to Downing Street in his negotiations with Brussels.

“The Government assures us that the EU has begun to be more receptive to ideas that, previously, it assured could not be carried out.

The negotiations continue their course and the Executive tells us that, with good will and constructive approaches on both sides, it hopes to reach a solution, "says the report.

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