The PM's spokesman was repeatedly asked today if we'd get a formal assessment -- like we've had for other trade deals, such as the Japan accord 2/ gov.uk/government/pub…
But no joy. The reply: `We’ve set out the detail of the deal, and the opportunities and benefits it provides the U.K. We’ve been clear it’s a good deal, which allows us to maintain access to the EU market.' 3/
Seems strange that such a huge part of Britain's economic and trade policy won't get its own formal assessment... but here we are ends/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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New: Just as Britain's pubs and restaurants expect a post-lockdown boom, a new Brexit problem threatens to spoil the party... 1/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
From April and July, the U.K. will impose new import controls on food and drink coming from the EU -- which makes up about 30% of Britain's food supply. (Up until now, the government has been waving this stuff through the border) 2/
The timing of these new checks -- extra paperwork, border control posts -- coinciding with a likely surge in demand for eating out etc, has executives very worried. `It's going to be like a Big Bang, a peak season of all peak seasons,' said Peter Ward of @UKWarehouse 3/
Exclusive: Labour condemns ‘denial and bluster’ of government’s Brexit response as red tape bites 1/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
In a letter from @RachelReevesMP to Michael Gove seen by Bloomberg, Labour says the government seems to have ‘no plan’ to deal with problems firms face from new bureaucracy 2/
Reeves is particularly critical on customs agent capacity - industry said it needed 50,000, but thinks only 12,000 were trained. And funds to train more have run out.. 3/ bloomberg.com/amp/news/artic…
New: more than half of firms moving goods between EU and UK have faced delays since Jan 1, due to Brexit and Covid impact 1/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/… w/ @lizzzburden
The data comes from a survey of 185 supply chain managers by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. CIPS economist John Glen said: `As the transportation of goods grows, so will the queues.' 2/
Other interesting data points from today -- Emma Churchill, who's leading the civil service effort on the border, said freight levels are currently at about 70% of the norm across the short straits 3/
Exclusive: a key customs system has been overwhelmed by Brexit, delaying exports and deepening trouble at the border 1/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Welcome to the world of transit, a core system that helps companies move goods into the EU post-Brexit. But the process is already breaking down. Here's what's going wrong... 2/
A shortage of transit guarantees. To issue transit documents -- which allow goods to cross the EU border and not be stopped at customs -- you need a transit guarantee, often backed by a bank, which covers any customs duties or taxes that might need to be paid...3/
It's been another torrid week at the border - inundated customs agents, goods stuck for days, companies buckling under the paperwork 1/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/… w/ @lizzzburden
Take Branimir Vuckovic, 45, who runs goods between the U.K. and EU. He spent this week stuck in Kent because he couldn't find a customs broker to do his Brexit paperwork. Even with traffic levels below normal, the system is being overwhelmed 2/
The government has admitted this problem itself. On a Q&A with businesses on Thursday, Heather Jones from the Border Delivery Group said: `We are starting to realize that customs agents’ capacity and capability is being extremely stretched' 3/ 🚨
Trucks are facing days-long delays to move goods between the U.K. and EU, as the Brexit red tape reality bites 1/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
The early damage of Brexit is happening beyond ports -- it's starting behind the border, at factory gates and collection depots. I spoke to 7 haulage firms and each painted a grim picture of how it's going 2/
Alcaline UK, which has a fleet of 145 vehicles and which moves goods to the EU, said it's had trucks stuck in Italy since Monday because the customer still hadn't provided correct transit documents 3/