LONDON – Business groups are asking for more time to adjust to Britain’s new trade agreement with the European Union, saying that the new rules set to take effect next week are in danger of disrupting annual trade in more than US $ 590 billion in goods that used to flow freely.
The UK and the EU said on Thursday they had signed an agreement on their future relations, sealing the 2016 British referendum’s decision to leave the bloc. This was a relief to companies that feared that four years of politically charged negotiations could end without a trade pact, resulting in product tariffs for both sides.
But despite the postponement, for the first time in almost half a century, food, motor vehicles and other goods circulating between the EU and the United Kingdom will face, as of January 1, customs controls and will need to meet separate sets of standards and regulations.
The British government estimates that there will be 215 million extra customs declarations per year, almost 600,000 per day, which companies say will take time and cost money to organize. Some companies will need to pay inspection fees, seek import licenses and figure out how to account for value added tax. British food and animal exports to the EU will be checked on arrival, while some professional qualifications will no longer be automatically recognized. Some companies say they do not yet fully know how they will respond because they have not yet seen the details of the trade agreement.
Predicting long lines at British and European ports, and reams of new paperwork, business groups are now calling on the UK and the EU to help companies navigate change and mitigate any new friction in trade, including giving companies time to adjust. to the new rules.