Yet another casualty of Brexit !!!

Percy Pigs the first casualties of Brexit red tape

PA
Jan 8th 2021 10:54AM

Percy Pigs are struggling to find their way across the Irish Sea to supermarket shelves in the Republic of Ireland in one of the first Brexit casualties.

Marks & Spencer revealed that getting to grips with new post-Brexit rules are becoming particularly tricky for the retailer’s porcine favourite.

At the company’s Christmas trading update, chief executive Steve Rowe explained how the sweets are a typical example of the problems facing retailers, as several report difficulties with new red tape.

But the problem is not confined to Percy Pigs and other retailers are already reporting struggles in understanding the new rules.

Mr Rowe said: “Essentially, there is about a third of the product in our food business that is subject to very complex rules of origin arrangements, around the components within it, and how much has been altered in the UK.

“Depending on that there is a variable tariff.
“Any product that’s manufactured in Europe, comes to the UK and is then redistributed to somewhere like Republic of Ireland also, potentially faces a tariff.

“So, the best example is Percy Pig is actually manufactured in Germany, and if it comes to the UK and we then send it to Ireland, in theory, he would have some tax on it.

“So we’ve got a lot to do in terms of composition and rerouting, but it’s really important that we continue to be focused on trading the business.

“And, at the moment, making sure we’ve got constant continuity of supply in our Irish business.”

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that “at least 50” of its members face potential tariffs for re-exporting goods following the agreement of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA).

“We appreciate that the rules of origin in the TCA were designed to be facilitative on trade in goods, but we need a solution which genuinely reflects the needs of UK-EU supply and distribution chains for goods,” said William Bain, trade policy adviser at the BRC.

“We are working with members on short-term options and are seeking dialogue with the Government and the EU on longer-term solutions to mitigate the effects of new tariffs.”

Following the agreement of the withdrawal deal, a raft of retailers including John Lewis and TKMaxx suspended deliveries into Northern Ireland amid uncertainty over new Irish Sea trading arrangements.

To try and combat the envisaged problems, M&S launched a new distribution centre in Motherwell exclusively to deal with supplying products to the island of Ireland, rather than from a warehouse that previously supplied Ireland and Britain.

But eight days into the new arrangements between the EU and UK, the centre is said to be struggling to cope with the new rules.

One problem for M&S is that many of its products sold in Ireland, like Percy Pigs, are sourced to the UK before being shipped out.

However, EU rules say “point of origin” must be declared on products going into member states.

Percy Pigs may find a workaround over time, but, bigger concerns will be with M&S’s myriad of ready meals or prepared dishes, which tend to have a long list of ingredients from around the world.

Meats, dairy and vegetables point of origin must be declared, meaning butter in one dish must be accounted for from one country, alongside a separate form for the meat and another for the vegetables, even if they are all in the same ready meal.

 

And yet more casualties of Brexit !!!


Scottish fishermen halt exports due to Brexit red tape

Reuters
Jan 8th 2021 5:57AM
Many Scottish fishermen have halted exports to European Union markets after post-Brexit bureaucracy shattered the system that used to put fresh langoustines and scallops in French shops just over a day after they were harvested.

Fishing exporters told Reuters their businesses could become unviable after the introduction of health certificates, customs declarations and other paperwork added days to their delivery times and hundreds of pounds to the cost of each load.

Business owners said they had tried to send small deliveries to France and Spain to test the new systems this week but it was taking five hours to secure a health certificate in Scotland, a document which is required to apply for other customs paperwork.

In the first working week after Brexit, one-day deliveries were taking three or more days - if they got through at all.

Several owners could not say for sure where their valuable cargo was. A trade group told fishermen to stop fishing exported stocks.

"Our customers are pulling out," Santiago Buesa of SB Fish told Reuters. "We are fresh product and the customers expect to have it fresh, so they're not buying. It's a catastrophe."

On Thursday evening, the Scottish fishing industry's biggest logistics provider DFDS Scotland told customers it had taken the "extraordinary step" of halting until Monday export groupage, when multiple product lines are carried, to try to fix IT issues, paperwork errors and the backlog.

Scotland harvests vast quantities of langoustines, scallops, oysters, lobsters and mussels from sea fisheries along its bracing Atlantic coast which are rushed by truck to grace the tables of European diners in Paris, Brussels and Madrid.

But Britain's departure from the EU's orbit is the biggest change to its trade since the launch of the Single Market in 1993, introducing reams of paperwork and costs that must be completed to move goods across the new customs border.

Those trading in food and livestock face the toughest requirements, hitting the express delivery of freshly caught fish that used to move overnight from Scotland, via England, into France, before going on to other European markets in days.

David Noble, whose Aegirfish buys from Scottish fleets to export to Europe, said he would have to pay between 500 to 600 pounds ($815) per day for paperwork, wiping out most profit.

His concern is that this marks more than just teething problems, and says he cannot pass on the higher costs of doing business. "I'm questioning whether to carry on," he said.

"If our fish is too expensive our customers will buy elsewhere."

CENTURIES OLD MARKET
In the single market, European food could be processed and packed in Britain then returned to the EU for sale. But Britain's pursuit of a more distant relationship means its trade deal does not cover all interactions between the two sides.

Gaps have already appeared on French and Irish shop shelves.

Fishing trade bodies said mistakes in filling out paperwork meant entire consignments were being checked. A French fishmongers' union said numerous seafood trucks had been held up at the customs point in Boulogne for several hours, and even up to a day, due to faulty paperwork.

While that should improve with time, and IT issues should be resolved, Seafood Scotland warned they could see the "destruction of a centuries-old market" if it does not.

Fergus Ewing, Scottish secretary for the rural economy, said the right balance between speed and scrutiny must be found.

"It is far better for problems to be identified and resolved here in Scotland," he said.

SB Fish's Buesa, angered at suggestions that traders were not prepared, said all his paperwork was correct and demanded to know why business leaders were not making more of a fuss.

He owns the business with his father, has been exporting for 28 years and employs around 50 people. "I'm in the trenches here," he said. "It's gridlock."

 

...... And so it goes on. The Brexit deal is a disaster as more and more importers/exporters begin to realise !!!


Traders told to prepare for ‘significant additional disruption’ at UK border

PA
Jan 8th 2021 1:35PM
A senior Government minister has warned businesses and hauliers that there is likely to be "significant additional disruption" at the UK border as a result of Brexit customs changes in the coming weeks.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said efforts to assist would be "redoubled" as traders were urged to ensure their paperwork was in order, with cargo traffic at Dover expected to reach pre-Christmas levels again next week.

It comes as major parcel courier DPD paused some delivery services into Europe – including Ireland – because of pressure caused by new post-Brexit red tape.

Marks & Spencer also revealed that its popular Percy Pigs sweets were struggling to find their way across the Irish Sea to supermarket shelves in Ireland.


The retailer said the new rules and regulations are set to "significantly impact" its overseas ventures in Ireland, the Czech Republic and France.

Mr Gove told broadcasters on Friday: "So far disruption at the border hasn't been too profound but it is the case that in the weeks ahead we expect that there will be significant additional disruption, particularly on the Dover-Calais route.

"It is our responsibility in Government to make sure that business is as ready as possible, and hauliers and traders have already done a lot but we have to redouble our efforts to communicate the precise paperwork that is required in order to make sure that trade can flow freely.

"So over the course of the next few days, Government will be stepping up that communications effort to make sure that business knows what is required."

So far disruption at the border hasn't been too profound but it is the case that in the weeks ahead we expect that there will be significant additional disruption

Michael Gove
The latest Government figures show that around 700 lorries have been turned away from the border since new rules came in to force after the end of the transition period with the European Union on January 1.

About 150 fines have been handed out for non-compliance with new rules designed to reduce truck queues in Kent.

But officials said those numbers could increase as the flow of lorries heading through Kent increases, with traffic drastically reduced at present.

Over the past week, there has been an average of 1,584 lorries per day attempting border crossings, which is only around 40% of historical norms, according to the Cabinet Office.

As well as requiring the correct paperwork, including export declarations and the extra certificates needed for products such as plant and animal products, hauliers must secure a negative Covid-19 test and a Kent Access Permit before embarking on their travels onwards to Europe.


Lorries board a ferry at Dover bound for France (Gareth Fuller/PA)
The increased push by Government to ready businesses comes as a host of sectors complained about the added complexity that they were having to wade through to trade with Europe.

Seafood exporters said they have been hit by a "perfect storm" of bureaucracy, IT problems and confusion following Brexit.

Tesco said there had been a "short delay on certain products" entering Northern Ireland.

And hauliers described being "overwhelmed" by red tape due to new checks on deliveries to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

DPD said that up to 20% of parcels had incorrect or incomplete data, meaning they had to be returned to customers, and announced a pause to its road service into Europe and Ireland until Wednesday.

New rules for business with Europe are here.

Use the Brexit checker tool to get personalised actions to keep your business moving Brexitpic.twitter.com/7jeN702Nav

— Cabinet Office (@cabinetofficeuk) January 8, 2021

Haulier industry body Logistics UK said deliveries were being delayed as lorries arrived in Belfast with incomplete paperwork.

In order to avoid a hard border with the Republic, Boris Johnson agreed Northern Ireland would remain in the EU single market – but that has meant checks on goods arriving from Great Britain.

Irish customs authorities said they would temporarily relax regulations around goods moving from Great Britain.

Labour accused the Government of failing to properly prepare for the end of the transition period.

Shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon called on ministers to "get a grip" on the situation in order to avoid the lorry queues witnessed before Christmas after France shut its border to UK entrants following the discovery of a new coronavirus variant.

A Government spokesman said: "Although many businesses have moved goods successfully since January 1, we are aware of some issues, and are providing guidance and support.

"Hauliers can use our 'Check a HGV is ready' service to make sure they have correct paperwork, and must obtain a Kent Access Permit if they plan to travel via Dover or Eurotunnel."