Thread by @AnnaJerzewska

🚨🛃On today’s announcement regarding extending customs and SPS easements for imports into the UK.

A (longish)🧵: What’s happening? Which simplifications are being extended? And, more importantly, why?

/1

questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statem…

2/ The story broke over the weekend following requests from the industry (I will come back to this).

See threads from @Joe_Mayes and @adampayne26

So what's changing?

https://twitter.com/Joe_Mayes/status/1368920582457278464

https://twitter.com/adampayne26/status/1368913552480800768

3/ On customs (in blue):

The option to defer customs declarations for 6 months has been extended until 2022.

IMPORTANT - for goods imported until now declarations will still be due in July. But e.g. declarations for goods imported in July can be submitted in Jan 2022

4/ Safety and security declarations, also known as summary entry declarations or pre-notifications have also been postponed. These are the ones submitted by the carrier or shipper.

5/ On SPS (in green) the extension is pretty much across the board. Delays in introducing:

Pre-notifications
Documentary checks
Physical checks
BCP checks

6/ If you're importing from the EU make sure to check which of these apply to you and remember that on the customs side it's these simplifications don't "add up" - you can defer customs declarations for up to 6 months, not 12

7/ Now, why is this happening?

Here’s one of the first articles on this. Industry calls on the Gov to postpone the implementation of phase 2 as "no one is ready”

theloadstar.com/no-one-is-read…

8/
- EU growers, transporters and exporters not ready to comply with documentary requirements
- Uncertainty around UK’s new IPAFFS system for SPS goods
- The UK not ready to inspect and controls these shipments

Quotes 👇

9/ Wasn't just calls from the industry. Port operators have also voiced their concerns.

See this quote from @richard_bpa👇

theguardian.com/business/2021/…

10/ And these ones from @mikesellersPIP on the difficulties in getting Portsmouth International Port ready on time

theloadstar.com/uk-ports-plead…

11/ So what does it all mean?

Part of it is a result of last-minute planning for the biggest change to our trade regime in decades.

As I and the entire Trade Twitter have said (repeatedly), you don’t introduce changes like that overnight.

12/ New infrastructure takes time, IT systems need to be tested. Most importantly all traders (across the supply chain) need time to 1) understand the changes 2) adjust to them.

And yes we head 5 years but we spent that time discussing politics and arguing not getting ready.

13/ Of course, none of it is new. We knew we weren’t ready months ago (@vivamjm).

Probably worth mentioning that an implementation period was requested by almost every single business association, industry body and all of the devolved administrations.

14/ So the fact that it turns out it was actually badly needed shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

But while the implementation period would have had to be agreed with the EU, this is a unilateral decision of the UK Gov.

15/ It doesn't give us easements both ways but is fully and totally withing UK Gov's control which apparently makes all the difference.

There is one more question here:

16/ How much of this is not being ready to implement the necessary controls vs not being ready to deal with the unavoidable consequences of Brexit and being a third country?

17/ In practice it really doesn't matter now, this was the right move given the state of things.

However, it does seem a bit like an attempt to have your cake and eat it... Leave the EU and implement a border and then try to mitigate it as much as possible unilaterally

18/ What's left now is to ensure that this extra time is used well. That efforts are intensified on all fronts. There is still so much to do in terms of helping businesses to understand their role and responsibilities. /ends