With all eyes on the coronavirus, you would almost forget the United Kingdom is leaving the European Customs Union at the end of this year. The British Chamber of Commerce now says that they fear that many UK businesses will not be ready in time.
When the United Kingdom leaves the EU Customs Union there will be a lot of new processes in place at the borders between the European Union and the United Kingdom. There are new procedures, there are new documents that need to be filled out. The British Chamber of Commerce has said that they believe the UK government hasn’t invested enough in training for companies on these new documents and procedures.
British Government Still Refusing to Extend the Transition Period
The call for an extension of the transition period has been heard from representatives of the EU, but also from within the UK. According to a recent poll, two-thirds of the British public is in favour of extending the transition period. The same goes for various trade groups, and essentially the British Chamber of Commerce is now saying the same.
The BBC reports:
Under the government's proposals for the future relationship with the EU, companies will have to complete customs declarations when exporting to or importing from the EU
Such declarations are not necessary while the UK remains within the EU customs area.
HMRC estimates that between 150,000 and 250,000 companies who trade with the EU will be filling in customs forms for the first time.
…
Liam Smyth, director of international trade at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Whilst traders are focussed on survival and working out how to deal with the impact of coronavirus, the problem of making 250 million more customs declarations at the end of the transition period has not gone away.
"Big challenges need big solutions. Cargo will grind to a halt if goods can't be cleared by our customs system.
"The funding the government has announced so far isn't enough.
…
Businesses without the in-house capability to fill in customs paperwork will have to turn to intermediaries to help them after the end of the transition period.
Read the full article by the BBC here.
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