Those who are able to read The Times (it’s subscription-only unless you have other means to read their content such as a free trial perhaps) will see in today’s edition a report entitled " Food import crisis is looming, warns M&S".
They’re worried that next month sees the new rules commence and they say that it will affect imports from the EU because “One of the concerns they raised was that in some member states the offices that issue export health certificates, which are required for trade in animal food products, only operate during office hours from Monday to Friday.”
And the industry is a 24/7 industry.
Here’s the thing though; everybody whether in the UK or in the EU that has anything at all to do with importing or exporting between the two has known about this since January (if not even earlier if you look at such things logically).
Why wait until the last minute before whinging instead of using the intervening time to make provisions for what you must know is coming?
@Zaphod Exactly the incentive we need to force our importers to shift
their suppliers Zaphod !?
Change cannot happen without disruption unfortunately !!
That’s why l say get on with it, get it over !!
Donkeyman!
It seems the NI Protocol can has been kicked down the road again until at least the end of December.
Let’s all hear it for prevarication. The linked article says the EU has caved in, cobblers says I. I think they’re just playing their silly games again.
I understand where you’re coming from, really I do and I even agree with some of what you’re saying there.
And it would be great to have a “clean break”-type fresh start and get things over and done with.
But be realistic.
There’s absolutely no way can 40+ years of insidious, creeping integration be resolved to mutual satisfaction quickly - and especially not when you’re dealing with the glacially-slow EU.
@Percy_Vere - yes, I too think that the EU are playing silly beggars BUT let’s see how things progress when the UK implements the planned changes next month because if UK-bound imports from the EU suffer as it looks like they will it won’t be long until we see some reaction.
I don’t think the planned changes will be implemented now because of this so-called “cave in”. The changes will be shelved until January 1st at the earliest I suspect and then probably March 1st 2022, etc.
I suppose that there’s a possibility of that but given we’re already in September and these changes start on 1st October I doubt it because it’s too late.
Isn’t it?
It looks like some companies like M&S above were hoping the changes would be pushed back again and hence stories like my earlier link, but importers have been warned and these changes have to happen at some time. https://www.getreadyforbrexit.eu/en/at-the-uk-border-2/
“Win”?
If there is such a thing as “winning” when dealing with other countries we’ve already won, but outside of wars there isn’t.
We’re doing okay in terms of growth & employment unlike you-know-who; we’re seeing huge foreign investment and continuing home-grown innovation; because of our success with vaccines our economy and society is opening up faster than many others; and lots more besides but if you’re determined not to pay attention to any of that I suppose you would see it as being let down.
Personally I’m extremely grateful to have left the EU because IMHO it is they that continue to let their citizens down.
It puts pressure on the EU as the ones insisting upon what the DUP are objecting to.
IMHO the EU can’t profess to have the best interests of the whole island of Ireland at heart and at the same time ignore the needs of a huge number of Northern Irish by trying to impose an unwanted & significant change to the island.
"Frost raised the prospect of triggering “Article 16” of the protocol, which allows either side to dispense with its terms if they are proving unexpectedly harmful.
“They would be making a significant mistake if they thought that we were not ready to use Article 16 safeguards, if that were to be the only apparent way forward to deal with the situation in front of us,” he said at the House of Lords.
“If we are to avoid this situation, there needs to be a real negotiation between us and the EU.”
Not just the government but British business too because these are the ones that really matter and that manufacture and export.
Although maybe we are seeing the beginnings with for example that sector according to the most recent surveys saying that optimism especially in manufacturing and engineering is at an all-time high.
Even in the transport & haulage sector confidence is at the highest since 2018 despite driver shortages.
It’s a start but like you say, it needs pursuing to take full advantage of opportunities.
I don’t know enough about the financials but they reported that we will have to adhere our products and exports to their agreed standards. Which is one of the problems we had with the EU, except in the case of the latter our processes are already geared up for it. So this is possibly a high cost for exporters. it’s a typical barrier to entry to protect markets within a trade block.
I think that most of the time that’s just our media or some disgruntled souls making more of something than the reality suggests to be the case.
Example: if you want to sell dress shirts to China they have to meet Chinese standards with such things as size, labelling and care instructions, just the same as Chinese shirts must meet our standards if they want to sell them here.
We generally can’t read Chinese and their sizing system is a little bit different to ours and vice-versa.
That has nothing whatsoever to do with trade blocs, barriers or processes; it is a natural requirement of selling those shirts.
There might well be higher costs involved in exporting anything anywhere but here’s the thing: we have been exporting various things all around the world for centuries and managed just fine.
Even as an EU member over half our exports were to countries outside the EU.
Personally I think that too much attention is given to trade deals and that real benefits are relatively-speaking quite minimal.
Our biggest single destination for exports has been the USA for quite a long time and we don’t have a trade deal with them.
When deals are agreed, along with supposed benefits there are always parts that are more-favourable to the other party too because that’s what a deal is; give and take.
It’s a modern form of bartering.
Such things have to be balanced with whether or not you are potentially increasing your market; could more people from the country you want a deal with buy your “stuff” than you will in turn be buying from them and will the profit margins make either option viable?
It’s not as easy to see either benefits or detriments sometimes for many years too, as over 40 years of expensive club membership and the subsequent cancellation are still proving.
