Staff on furlough is the latest Brexit problem for Boris Johnson - more reports from the front-line... 1/
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Jon Swallow runs @jordonfreight, which helps companies move goods between the U.K. and EU.
They're based at Felixstowe, Britain's largest container port.
They've not been able to run tests on new post-Brexit customs processes with their clients, because staff are furloughed 2/
`We can’t contact many of the people we need to,' Swallow said. `The people currently dealing with the paperwork, the systems, they’re on furlough.'
It makes sense -- firms will furlough the staff who are not immediately keeping the business afloat, and let gov. pay the bill 3/
Other tasks are stalled due to furlough too.
Building new warehouse capacity, installing new IT systems, training staff to handle customs entries have been put on hold, says trade lawyer Ross Denton at Baker McKenzie.
`It’s 100% dropped off everybody’s radar,' he said 4/
Sunak has extended furlough scheme to end-Oct, meaning staff could be off through the summer.
Swallow fears a mad rush of Brexit activity in the autumn, which will be too late.
`We need to be able to test systems back and forth at scale. We need to know people are ready' 5/
All this preparation has to happen *whether there's a trade deal or not*
It doesn't matter if there are tariffs or no tariffs, these changes are automatic consequences of leaving the EU's customs union
Get it wrong and goods will be held up at the borders 6/
And the government's drive to train 50,000 customs agents to handle all the new Brexit paperwork has also been it by the virus 7/
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Speaking though of tariffs, the UK-EU trade talks soured further last night after a punchy letter from David Frost to Michel Barnier.
As it stands, we're still far from a tariff-eliminating free-trade agreement 8/
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
And if there's no agreement, the UK has set out in black-and-white what tariffs it will apply to EU imports e.g. 10% on cars, steep duties on beef, lamb, poultry.
Which would mean price rises for consumers, and a deeper economic shock 9/
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
As well as furloughed staff hampering Brexit prep, a lot of firms refuse to do anything b/c they're saving resources after being battered by covid-19, says @RichardDABurge at @londonchamber
Many also fear they won't even be trading in 2021, so why waste the effort, he said 10/
The last hope for business is an extension to the Brexit transition period, but the UK gov consistently rules it out.
“Companies have fingers and toes crossed for an extension, but I can’t see it,” says trade expert Marc Bunch at EY 11/
This quote from a business lobby source sums up some of the exasperation in industry:
`The idea of adding a man-made shock to a natural disaster doesn't seem a particularly good one' 12/
And this thread from @NicoleSykes_ does a very good job of capturing the on-the-ground pressures faced by businesses right now 13/
So here we are.
It seems we're heading for another frenetic rush with a looming economic crunch at the end of it, as with all the other Brexit deadlines before.
But perhaps this time it really is for real... ends/
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