LONDON (AP) – New post-Brexit
custom rules for goods arriving from the European Union to Britain took effect on Saturday, and a leading food industry body has warned that the new border controls could lead to food shortages.
Beginning on Jan. 1, importers must make a full customs declaration on goods entering the UK from the EU or other countries. Businesses will no longer be allowed to delay completing full import customs declarations for up to 175 days -- a measure that was introduced to cope with the disruption of Brexit.
The British Frozen Food Federation said this week the new restrictions on animal and plant products from the EU could result in major delays at ports in the New Year because some in the supply chain -- especially logistics companies on the EU side -- may not be prepared for the changes.
“We are concerned that not enough planning has been done to ensure the new requirements are understood by everyone in the food supply chain,” said Richard Harrow, the federation’s chief executive.
“With only days to go before the new rules, we remain concerned that January could be a fraught month for our members,” he said.
The new measures require businesses to complete the correct paperwork at least four hours before goods can arrive at UK borders, or they risk being turned back at the border. Animal and plant-based products must also have statements of origin certificates.
A new poll released this week – a year after the UK left the EU -- found that more than six in 10 British voters believe Brexit has either gone badly or worse than they expected.
According to the survey conducted by the Opinium, 42 percent of people who voted Leave in 2016 had a negative view of how Brexit has turned out.
Moreover, 86 percent of people who voted in favor of remaining said it had gone badly or worse than they expected. Overall, only 14 percent of all voters were satisfied and said that Brexit had gone better than expected.
Also, official data released in December showed that Britain’s economic recovery from pandemic fallout slowed more sharply than previously thought in the third quarter even prior to the arrival of the Omicron variant.