Three-quarters of British companies exporting goods to EU countries complain about increased waiting times and customs procedures due to Brexit. A quarter (26 percent) of British SMEs trading with the EU are now considering moving part of their European operations outside the United Kingdom.
Almost one in five British exporters said they had already decided to relocate part or all of their activities to the internal market due to Brexit.
European companies are also already suffering export losses because of the UK’s departure from the European Union, while real customs checks have yet to be implemented. Furthermore, EU exporters must comply with so-called 'pre-notifications' starting January 1, as the AGRI agriculture committee of the European Parliament was informed in a Brexit update session on Thursday.
The British government is tightening the certification requirements for most phytosanitary and veterinary products, whether organic or not. Depending on the products, the new rules will come into effect between July 1 and November 1, 2022. The pre-notification requirement from January 1 will apply to every agro-food entrepreneur exporting to the UK.
They will need a British importer or their own establishment in the United Kingdom to manage this. Northern Ireland is an exception. Trade in organic products between the EU and Northern Ireland remains unchanged compared to before Brexit.
A British survey revealed that only one in four small importers is prepared for the upcoming changes, while one in eight importers said they cannot prepare for the introduction of controls. It is already known that British customs have not even trained the required staff, and that their software programs are not compatible with European systems.
In the past year, British imports from the EU fell by nearly a quarter (24.8 percent), while exports to the EU declined by 13.1 percent. According to reports to the agriculture committee, the consequences of Brexit are clearly not positive. Brexit has not eased trade.
‘And bear in mind that 2021 was only a transition year,’ noted Dutch MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen (SGP). He fears that the real consequences will only become truly noticeable next year, when physical checks and documentation requirements begin.
Ruissen drew attention to the export of seed potatoes. The Netherlands had a lively trade, over 18,000 tons per year. That has now come to a complete halt. It should be possible to recognize each other’s standards, he remarked.