Getting brexit done!

[Strokes]

Just now, leicsmac said:

 

...I really hope that the public at large haven't reached the point where discourse has become entirely "Us v Them" like this.

 

Current evidence, however, does seem to be that way.

Reached it? We are beyond it.

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, Strokes said:

Reached it? We are beyond it.

You may well be right, and that's hugely depressing, to say nothing of terrifying.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

The EU is looking worse by the day at the moment, and that's from someone who voted remain. 

[January47]

5 hours ago, David Guiza said:

The trigger fingered Government providing 120 day use of a pesticide that previously required a special permit to be used, and which we already possessed. It's also a wider point that promises were made that we would continue AND expand the positive work of the EU Environmentally and yet the Environmental Bill is being delayed again, for a third time. 

The lack of the transparency of the Government, again, whereby they reference 'new evidence' but are either unable or unwilling to provide the same, or both. The lack of scrutiny on a weak Government from a weak opposition. 

 

Yes, in this instance, it's somewhat hypocritical given that other countries, such as France had/have been provided special grants by the EU in any event, but my original point was that I am concerned that much of the EU's good work will be easily dismissed with stories like the current vaccine row and that could be potentially damaging. Sincerely hope it isn't a baby out with the bathwater situation, but I fear it will be as the Government seek to flex their new found muscle. 

 

The use of these pesticides is contentious no doubt but the gist of what you are saying goes back to the point of brexit. The decisions  on these things are now going to be made by the democratically elected UK government rather than the EU. I'll take a guess that you don't support the current government but that's democracy....we may find in 20 years time under a future Green government (I hypothesise) we go for stricter regs and if so , fine, because that is what we will have voted for.

[CosbehFox]

10 hours ago, Nalis said:

Sums it up for me.

 

I've never been a Brexiteer (and never will) but I definitely became more of a EU sceptic over the past 4-5 years.

I reckon an anti EU policy is going to be increasingly used by left winger parties in other European countries. The results in Portugal’s recent election and the early polls in France don’t make good reading for lefty idealists like myself 

[David Guiza]

15 hours ago, January47 said:

The use of these pesticides is contentious no doubt but the gist of what you are saying goes back to the point of brexit. The decisions  on these things are now going to be made by the democratically elected UK government rather than the EU. I'll take a guess that you don't support the current government but that's democracy....we may find in 20 years time under a future Green government (I hypothesise) we go for stricter regs and if so , fine, because that is what we will have voted for.

To use a football analogy, given the environment of the forum, my point was that if you are replacing a contentious manager who has many highs and lows over a prolonged period at the club, it would be silly to do away with the entirety of his work. Sure, you want to correct his wrongs and bring a new vision to the club, but disregarding the legacy entirely and making wholesale changes isn't going to bring success. My concern is that the current Government are going to do exactly that because a seemingly increasing number of their voters or potential voters want every single tie cut and burned.  

 

As to your response - I appreciate what you're saying, but, in reality, the vast majority of voters of any party do not consider every finite detail of their proposed party's manifesto, proposals, history, background etc so there will still be numerous aspects that they do not agree with. My ideal political party doesn't exist, it would be a hybrid of two or three parties with numerous cross-over policies and visions, so even if the party I voted were elected I would still critique them if they were acting in a manner that I disagreed with. I fully appreciate that we're going to be under Tory rule for at least a decade, but to suggest that we, as a nation(s) made our metaphorical bed by voting for them and never question is a very put up or shut up approach to Politics that I don't agree with at all.

 

Anyway, much like football, it's a game of opinions and that's what keeps it interesting. 

 

 

[Steven]

Brexit: British supermarket chain in EU sees bare shelves and early closures

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-british-supermarket-brussels-eu-b1799676.html

[Carl the Llama]

51 minutes ago, Steven said:

Brexit: British supermarket chain in EU sees bare shelves and early closures

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-british-supermarket-brussels-eu-b1799676.html

Huh.  I'm actually ITK on this one.  Without getting too detailed I say we give it a hearty L O L and move on.  Just remember to give it under the table so there's no tax.  Then take 10% of that L O L back because they wouldn't have received it all anyway if we gave it through the proper channels.  It's what the owner would have wanted. 

 

Also "supermarket chain"?  It's 2 shops and a failed tea room, get outta here with your "supermarket chain"  

[Buce]

 

Brexit will cost London's economy 9.5 billion per year.

 

Put that on the side of a bus.

 

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/brexit_deal_analysis_2021_-_04.02.pdf

[Carl the Llama]

39 minutes ago, Buce said:

 

Brexit The completely unpreventable and not at all exacerbated by leadership decisions Covid pandemic will cost London's economy 9.5 billion per year.

 

Put that on the side of a bus.

 

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/brexit_deal_analysis_2021_-_04.02.pdf

Saved half the forum the effort of replying.

[Innovindil]

9 minutes ago, Carl the Llama said:

Saved half the forum the effort of replying.

Could have just changed the "will" to "could" and saved yourself some editing. 

[January47]

2 hours ago, Buce said:

 

Brexit will cost London's economy 9.5 billion per year.

 

Put that on the side of a bus.

 

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/brexit_deal_analysis_2021_-_04.02.pdf

One thing you can guarantee about an economic forecast is that it will be wrong....its just by how much.

 

These kind of forecasts can only also really estimate effect on the current economic system. It can't build in opportunities and factors that will occur in the future as no-one can really predict what they what they will be. 

 

I notice the pound is up against the euro and the dollar since the new year

[UpTheLeagueFox]

4 hours ago, Buce said:

Brexit will cost London's economy 9.5 billion per year.

Put that on the side of a bus.

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/brexit_deal_analysis_2021_-_04.02.pdf

 

4 hours ago, Carl the Llama said:

Saved half the forum the effort of replying.

 

4 hours ago, Innovindil said:

Could have just changed the "will" to "could" and saved yourself some editing. 

Not like @Buce to stir the pot 

[oxford blue]

5 hours ago, Buce said:

 

Brexit will cost London's economy 9.5 billion per year.

 

Put that on the side of a bus.

 

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/brexit_deal_analysis_2021_-_04.02.pdf

I think a few points need to be made regarding this research (How accurate/impartial have CEBR previously been?):

1. It is stated in report it's based upon previous research from 2018, so not recent.

2. It assumes the UK will continue to pay around 25% of previous contributions - is this correct?

3. It ignores any positive impact on trade with the remainder of the world - one of the key points of Brexit. 

4. No account is taken of the new (points based)skill based immigration system on the economy.

4 It's final paragraph states "there remains a considerable amount of uncertainty on the impacts of the UK leaving the EU, and the deal agreed upon leaves much undecided"

 

it seems to me there is a fair bit of unsubstantiated conjecture in the report, as is clear in final paragraph. 

 

[StanSP]

Tulip uplands these days, as opposed to sunlit, then...? 

[st albans fox]

I’m hearing plenty of anecdotal bad stuff about what’s going on - but a lot of paperwork etc has been kicked down the road and the restrictions  on entry for trucks are not properly in place 

 

I think they need to make some more agreements with the EU over the next couple months about enforcement but not sure they will manage that 

[dsr-burnley]

1 hour ago, st albans fox said:

I’m hearing plenty of anecdotal bad stuff about what’s going on - but a lot of paperwork etc has been kicked down the road and the restrictions  on entry for trucks are not properly in place 

 

I think they need to make some more agreements with the EU over the next couple months about enforcement but not sure they will manage that 

Some of it is clearly deliberate stroppiness - such as for example they won't let UK trawlers sell shellfish in France because the UK waters aren't clean enough, but they will allow EU trawlers that have caught their shellfish in UK waters.

 

I don't know how much of that there is, but it doesn't take much for them to give the impression that they have not signed the withdrawal agreement in good faith.

[zorro en españa]

22 hours ago, dsr-burnley said:

Some of it is clearly deliberate stroppiness - such as for example they won't let UK trawlers sell shellfish in France because the UK waters aren't clean enough, but they will allow EU trawlers that have caught their shellfish in UK waters.

 

I don't know how much of that there is, but it doesn't take much for them to give the impression that they have not signed the withdrawal agreement in good faith.

I don’t think the EU is reneging on the WA with this example, although I do recognise you have said that it is the “impression” that is being created.

 

This could have been avoided, of course, but the acidity within the negotiations prevented it from happening.  I leave it to others to conclude who was the most bombastic.

 

Meanwhile, the reality for many is there are real downsides to the divorce - well, blow me over!

 

We have to live with this now, appreciate the rules and understand the repercussions.  Those in the shellfish industry look like they are going to have to find new markets - and one of the UK’s strengths is the number of people within its shores.  A new and healthier diet perhaps?
 

We can all pick at individual components to any relationship but the real impact of Brexit will not materialise for some years in both the UK and EU.  It is not looking good for some but it will be for others - I will specifically look out for who benefits and why (I can have a good guess).

 

I have sympathy for good honest people whose businesses look likely to fold, many who were promised so much better.

 

[bovril]

The debate has got so far removed from the actual pros and cons of EU or Single Market membership, especially since vaccine-gate. Understanding the EU isn't required for membership of Leave or Remain anymore, it seems to be more an identity and often contradictory set of beliefs.

[Innovindil]

The Government is confident that its-post Brexit worst-case scenario of disruption from queues of thousands of lorries in Kent has now been avoided.

 

Overall freight flows have returned to the same levels as last year.

 

Internal figures seen by the BBC show outbound roll-on roll-off lorry traffic for Great Britain for the month so far at 98% of last February's levels.

 

Inbound traffic is at 99% of last year's levels.

 

KeNt WiLl BeCoMe A tOiLeT. 

[Buce]

1 hour ago, Innovindil said:

The Government is confident that its-post Brexit worst-case scenario of disruption from queues of thousands of lorries in Kent has now been avoided.

 

Overall freight flows have returned to the same levels as last year.

 

Internal figures seen by the BBC show outbound roll-on roll-off lorry traffic for Great Britain for the month so far at 98% of last February's levels.

 

Inbound traffic is at 99% of last year's levels.

 

KeNt WiLl BeCoMe A tOiLeT. 

 

Cherry picking your stats?

 

Surely not?

 

However, their analysis of data from multiple sources - ferry manifests, port traffic, the Channel Tunnel, French officials and Kent Permit checks - also shows:

• significantly lower traffic in January
• a notable rise in the number of empty lorries returning from Great Britain to the European Union, and
• specific industries clearly affected by the end of the Brexit transition period

Lorry traffic on the crossing from Kent to the EU on ferries and via the Channel Tunnel in January was 67% of the same month in 2020, and 82% in February.

Although there is no formal count of empty lorries, a variety of ferry company, French, and UK official data suggest the proportion of empty lorries going back to the EU at around 50%.

French sources suggested Eurotunnel, which tends to transfer higher-value loads, was seeing 50-60% empty loads.

 

Combining the reduction in traffic flow with the increased number of empty lorries, it is possible to calculate that actual lorry transfers of freight in January from Kent to the EU were substantially down, by around 2,000 lorries a day compared to January 2020.

Even now, with overall levels back to normal, there are around 1,000-2,000 fewer lorries exiting the whole of Great Britain with actual freight.

 

Missed this one too?

 

More than a month after the UK's post-Brexit trade deal with the EU came into force, complaints from British importers and exporters continue to mount.

Rules of origin for products that are imported into the UK, then exported to the EU are causing difficulty for some firms.

Others are caught up in the complexity of VAT issues, while the time and trouble taken to get merchandise through customs remains a hassle.

Small wonder, then, that according to a survey by the Road Haulage Association, Brexit-related problems caused the volume of exports passing through British ports to the EU to fall very sharply last month compared with a year ago.

A government spokesperson admitted that some businesses are "facing challenges with specific aspects of our new trading relationship" and promised to provide them with the necessary support "to trade effectively with Europe".

"That's why we are operating export helplines, running webinars with experts and offering businesses support via our network of 300 international trade advisers," the spokesperson said.

The BBC spoke to three of the firms affected to learn more about the particular challenges they are facing.

 

"We have to take a hit and blindly support our customers," says Nisha Menon, whose company, Nikasu Foods, specialises in Indian snacks and meals.

It's a family-run firm, started by her father 25 years ago. She took over the UK and European side of the business 12 years ago.

Her headaches began when the company that distributes her products in Greece complained about having to pay extra to receive its latest consignment of Jack & Chill jackfruit products.

These are vegan-friendly meals, including spicy burgers and biryanis, that are gaining popularity in the Greek market.

But like all the firm's foodstuffs, they are manufactured at its two factories in India - and that's where the problem lies.

Naturally, Nisha had to pay duty on the goods when they arrived in the UK. In the past, that would have been it, but now there is an additional tariff barrier.

"Apparently because the product is not made in the UK, they now have to pay customs duty when they import it into Greece," Nisha says.

"They said, 'We cannot increase the price, so you have to support us with that.'"

One solution would be to send the products directly from India to Greece, but because they are shipped in big containers, that would involve a minimum order of 10 tonnes, which is too much for the distributor to handle.

"I'm very frustrated," says Nisha, who is now considering dropping the EU market altogether.

"I've been told I don't have to pay duty again, but the Greek customs don't agree."

 

"Bikers are notoriously fussy about getting the right colour paint match for their bikes," says Phil Allen, managing director of RS Bike Paint.

And if you're a motorcyclist who wants to be sure of getting the right paint job to complete a repair, Phil has the solution.

His company has 45,000 records of different paint shades covering 160 different bike brands. It's the only comprehensive database of its kind.

"It's a niche market that's about an inch wide, but a mile deep," he says. "Nobody else does what we do."

However, it turns out there is a limit to how far his customers are prepared to go.

"When we export to the EU, customers are paying VAT not only at the point of purchase - our online shop - but are being asked to pay again to release their products from customs in their own country, together with an admin fee," Phil says.

"This, of course, prices us out of the market, especially now that our courier has added a £4.50 'cross-border' surcharge for every packet we send."

The effects are already being felt. One Frenchman placed an order worth €54 - that's €40 worth of paint. plus a €14 shipping charge. But when he was asked to pay another €39 in charges, he declined.

"Now that the goods are in France, we can either pay the carrier to bring them back to us or have the product destroyed. It's cheaper for them to be destroyed."

Phil's website asks EU customers to agree to pay any duties, but he can't tell them in advance what those will be, because different countries are applying the rules differently and inconsistently.

"One-third of everything we manufacture goes straight to the EU," he says. "There's a limit to how much we can write off."

 

"If you don't speak French, you're stuffed," says Nicolas Hanson, managing director of high-end pasta-making firm La Tua Pasta. Fortunately he does, having dual British and French citizenship.

That has allowed him to carry on sending truffle ravioli and other delicacies to top retailers on the other side of the Channel, having forged contacts that have safeguarded his supply route in the face of increasing bureaucracy.

That trade has become all the more valuable to him as demand from posh UK restaurants has withered during the pandemic.

But since 1 January, new demands for paperwork have saddled him with an extra £50,000 to £75,000 in costs.

These include the need to obtain a public health certificate for his products and inspections from two sets of vets, one in the UK and one in France, for every shipment he sends.

These Product of Animal Origin rules apply not just to meat, but to all foodstuffs that contain 50% or more processed dairy product, eggs or milk.

"It's not uncommon for the truck driver to call me at 8pm on a Saturday night from Calais," he says.

"There are never enough vets, so we can wait for four hours. Every hour we wait costs £50. Then the truck driver has worked his shift and needs eight hours' rest time."

At every step of the way, there are officials who need to be paid. "What's going on is highway robbery. Everyone has got their snout in the trough."

Nicolas says his customers will have to pay more because of the extra costs: "I will absorb some, they will absorb some and we will have to live with it.

"But frankly, it's scandalous that the governments are allowing this to happen. We're just a food manufacturer trying to make a living."

Edited 13 February 2021 by Buce

[Innovindil]

12 minutes ago, Buce said:

 

Cherry picking your stats?

 

Surely not?

 

However, their analysis of data from multiple sources - ferry manifests, port traffic, the Channel Tunnel, French officials and Kent Permit checks - also shows:

• significantly lower traffic in January
• a notable rise in the number of empty lorries returning from Great Britain to the European Union, and
• specific industries clearly affected by the end of the Brexit transition period

Lorry traffic on the crossing from Kent to the EU on ferries and via the Channel Tunnel in January was 67% of the same month in 2020, and 82% in February.

Although there is no formal count of empty lorries, a variety of ferry company, French, and UK official data suggest the proportion of empty lorries going back to the EU at around 50%.

French sources suggested Eurotunnel, which tends to transfer higher-value loads, was seeing 50-60% empty loads.

 

Combining the reduction in traffic flow with the increased number of empty lorries, it is possible to calculate that actual lorry transfers of freight in January from Kent to the EU were substantially down, by around 2,000 lorries a day compared to January 2020.

Even now, with overall levels back to normal, there are around 1,000-2,000 fewer lorries exiting the whole of Great Britain with actual freight.

 

Missed this one too?

 

More than a month after the UK's post-Brexit trade deal with the EU came into force, complaints from British importers and exporters continue to mount.

Rules of origin for products that are imported into the UK, then exported to the EU are causing difficulty for some firms.

Others are caught up in the complexity of VAT issues, while the time and trouble taken to get merchandise through customs remains a hassle.

Small wonder, then, that according to a survey by the Road Haulage Association, Brexit-related problems caused the volume of exports passing through British ports to the EU to fall very sharply last month compared with a year ago.

A government spokesperson admitted that some businesses are "facing challenges with specific aspects of our new trading relationship" and promised to provide them with the necessary support "to trade effectively with Europe".

"That's why we are operating export helplines, running webinars with experts and offering businesses support via our network of 300 international trade advisers," the spokesperson said.

The BBC spoke to three of the firms affected to learn more about the particular challenges they are facing.

 

"We have to take a hit and blindly support our customers," says Nisha Menon, whose company, Nikasu Foods, specialises in Indian snacks and meals.

It's a family-run firm, started by her father 25 years ago. She took over the UK and European side of the business 12 years ago.

Her headaches began when the company that distributes her products in Greece complained about having to pay extra to receive its latest consignment of Jack & Chill jackfruit products.

These are vegan-friendly meals, including spicy burgers and biryanis, that are gaining popularity in the Greek market.

But like all the firm's foodstuffs, they are manufactured at its two factories in India - and that's where the problem lies.

Naturally, Nisha had to pay duty on the goods when they arrived in the UK. In the past, that would have been it, but now there is an additional tariff barrier.

"Apparently because the product is not made in the UK, they now have to pay customs duty when they import it into Greece," Nisha says.

"They said, 'We cannot increase the price, so you have to support us with that.'"

One solution would be to send the products directly from India to Greece, but because they are shipped in big containers, that would involve a minimum order of 10 tonnes, which is too much for the distributor to handle.

"I'm very frustrated," says Nisha, who is now considering dropping the EU market altogether.

"I've been told I don't have to pay duty again, but the Greek customs don't agree."

 

"Bikers are notoriously fussy about getting the right colour paint match for their bikes," says Phil Allen, managing director of RS Bike Paint.

And if you're a motorcyclist who wants to be sure of getting the right paint job to complete a repair, Phil has the solution.

His company has 45,000 records of different paint shades covering 160 different bike brands. It's the only comprehensive database of its kind.

"It's a niche market that's about an inch wide, but a mile deep," he says. "Nobody else does what we do."

However, it turns out there is a limit to how far his customers are prepared to go.

"When we export to the EU, customers are paying VAT not only at the point of purchase - our online shop - but are being asked to pay again to release their products from customs in their own country, together with an admin fee," Phil says.

"This, of course, prices us out of the market, especially now that our courier has added a £4.50 'cross-border' surcharge for every packet we send."

The effects are already being felt. One Frenchman placed an order worth €54 - that's €40 worth of paint. plus a €14 shipping charge. But when he was asked to pay another €39 in charges, he declined.

"Now that the goods are in France, we can either pay the carrier to bring them back to us or have the product destroyed. It's cheaper for them to be destroyed."

Phil's website asks EU customers to agree to pay any duties, but he can't tell them in advance what those will be, because different countries are applying the rules differently and inconsistently.

"One-third of everything we manufacture goes straight to the EU," he says. "There's a limit to how much we can write off."

 

"If you don't speak French, you're stuffed," says Nicolas Hanson, managing director of high-end pasta-making firm La Tua Pasta. Fortunately he does, having dual British and French citizenship.

That has allowed him to carry on sending truffle ravioli and other delicacies to top retailers on the other side of the Channel, having forged contacts that have safeguarded his supply route in the face of increasing bureaucracy.

That trade has become all the more valuable to him as demand from posh UK restaurants has withered during the pandemic.

But since 1 January, new demands for paperwork have saddled him with an extra £50,000 to £75,000 in costs.

These include the need to obtain a public health certificate for his products and inspections from two sets of vets, one in the UK and one in France, for every shipment he sends.

These Product of Animal Origin rules apply not just to meat, but to all foodstuffs that contain 50% or more processed dairy product, eggs or milk.

"It's not uncommon for the truck driver to call me at 8pm on a Saturday night from Calais," he says.

"There are never enough vets, so we can wait for four hours. Every hour we wait costs £50. Then the truck driver has worked his shift and needs eight hours' rest time."

At every step of the way, there are officials who need to be paid. "What's going on is highway robbery. Everyone has got their snout in the trough."

Nicolas says his customers will have to pay more because of the extra costs: "I will absorb some, they will absorb some and we will have to live with it.

"But frankly, it's scandalous that the governments are allowing this to happen. We're just a food manufacturer trying to make a living."

... So did Kent become a toilet or not? 

[dsr-burnley]

15 hours ago, Buce said:

 

Cherry picking your stats?

 

Surely not?

 

However, their analysis of data from multiple sources - ferry manifests, port traffic, the Channel Tunnel, French officials and Kent Permit checks - also shows:

• significantly lower traffic in January
• a notable rise in the number of empty lorries returning from Great Britain to the European Union, and
• specific industries clearly affected by the end of the Brexit transition period

Lorry traffic on the crossing from Kent to the EU on ferries and via the Channel Tunnel in January was 67% of the same month in 2020, and 82% in February.

Although there is no formal count of empty lorries, a variety of ferry company, French, and UK official data suggest the proportion of empty lorries going back to the EU at around 50%.

French sources suggested Eurotunnel, which tends to transfer higher-value loads, was seeing 50-60% empty loads.

 

Combining the reduction in traffic flow with the increased number of empty lorries, it is possible to calculate that actual lorry transfers of freight in January from Kent to the EU were substantially down, by around 2,000 lorries a day compared to January 2020.

Even now, with overall levels back to normal, there are around 1,000-2,000 fewer lorries exiting the whole of Great Britain with actual freight.

 

Missed this one too?

 

More than a month after the UK's post-Brexit trade deal with the EU came into force, complaints from British importers and exporters continue to mount.

Rules of origin for products that are imported into the UK, then exported to the EU are causing difficulty for some firms.

Others are caught up in the complexity of VAT issues, while the time and trouble taken to get merchandise through customs remains a hassle.

Small wonder, then, that according to a survey by the Road Haulage Association, Brexit-related problems caused the volume of exports passing through British ports to the EU to fall very sharply last month compared with a year ago.

A government spokesperson admitted that some businesses are "facing challenges with specific aspects of our new trading relationship" and promised to provide them with the necessary support "to trade effectively with Europe".

"That's why we are operating export helplines, running webinars with experts and offering businesses support via our network of 300 international trade advisers," the spokesperson said.

The BBC spoke to three of the firms affected to learn more about the particular challenges they are facing.

 

"We have to take a hit and blindly support our customers," says Nisha Menon, whose company, Nikasu Foods, specialises in Indian snacks and meals.

It's a family-run firm, started by her father 25 years ago. She took over the UK and European side of the business 12 years ago.

Her headaches began when the company that distributes her products in Greece complained about having to pay extra to receive its latest consignment of Jack & Chill jackfruit products.

These are vegan-friendly meals, including spicy burgers and biryanis, that are gaining popularity in the Greek market.

But like all the firm's foodstuffs, they are manufactured at its two factories in India - and that's where the problem lies.

Naturally, Nisha had to pay duty on the goods when they arrived in the UK. In the past, that would have been it, but now there is an additional tariff barrier.

"Apparently because the product is not made in the UK, they now have to pay customs duty when they import it into Greece," Nisha says.

"They said, 'We cannot increase the price, so you have to support us with that.'"

One solution would be to send the products directly from India to Greece, but because they are shipped in big containers, that would involve a minimum order of 10 tonnes, which is too much for the distributor to handle.

"I'm very frustrated," says Nisha, who is now considering dropping the EU market altogether.

"I've been told I don't have to pay duty again, but the Greek customs don't agree."

 

"Bikers are notoriously fussy about getting the right colour paint match for their bikes," says Phil Allen, managing director of RS Bike Paint.

And if you're a motorcyclist who wants to be sure of getting the right paint job to complete a repair, Phil has the solution.

His company has 45,000 records of different paint shades covering 160 different bike brands. It's the only comprehensive database of its kind.

"It's a niche market that's about an inch wide, but a mile deep," he says. "Nobody else does what we do."

However, it turns out there is a limit to how far his customers are prepared to go.

"When we export to the EU, customers are paying VAT not only at the point of purchase - our online shop - but are being asked to pay again to release their products from customs in their own country, together with an admin fee," Phil says.

"This, of course, prices us out of the market, especially now that our courier has added a £4.50 'cross-border' surcharge for every packet we send."

The effects are already being felt. One Frenchman placed an order worth €54 - that's €40 worth of paint. plus a €14 shipping charge. But when he was asked to pay another €39 in charges, he declined.

"Now that the goods are in France, we can either pay the carrier to bring them back to us or have the product destroyed. It's cheaper for them to be destroyed."

Phil's website asks EU customers to agree to pay any duties, but he can't tell them in advance what those will be, because different countries are applying the rules differently and inconsistently.

"One-third of everything we manufacture goes straight to the EU," he says. "There's a limit to how much we can write off."

 

"If you don't speak French, you're stuffed," says Nicolas Hanson, managing director of high-end pasta-making firm La Tua Pasta. Fortunately he does, having dual British and French citizenship.

That has allowed him to carry on sending truffle ravioli and other delicacies to top retailers on the other side of the Channel, having forged contacts that have safeguarded his supply route in the face of increasing bureaucracy.

That trade has become all the more valuable to him as demand from posh UK restaurants has withered during the pandemic.

But since 1 January, new demands for paperwork have saddled him with an extra £50,000 to £75,000 in costs.

These include the need to obtain a public health certificate for his products and inspections from two sets of vets, one in the UK and one in France, for every shipment he sends.

These Product of Animal Origin rules apply not just to meat, but to all foodstuffs that contain 50% or more processed dairy product, eggs or milk.

"It's not uncommon for the truck driver to call me at 8pm on a Saturday night from Calais," he says.

"There are never enough vets, so we can wait for four hours. Every hour we wait costs £50. Then the truck driver has worked his shift and needs eight hours' rest time."

At every step of the way, there are officials who need to be paid. "What's going on is highway robbery. Everyone has got their snout in the trough."

Nicolas says his customers will have to pay more because of the extra costs: "I will absorb some, they will absorb some and we will have to live with it.

"But frankly, it's scandalous that the governments are allowing this to happen. We're just a food manufacturer trying to make a living."

How to the November and December 2020 figures compare with November and December 2019?  I think it would be important to know just so we can see if the pandemic has made any difference.  It's definitely incomplete information to quote pre-pandemic figures in comparison to pandemic figures and just assume that the pandemic has made no difference.  It may have, it may not, but it needs to be considered.

[Alf Bentley]

There I was thinking a Brexit trade & security deal was done, but maybe not....... 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/04/uks-plan-to-extend-brexit-grace-period-infuriates-irish-and-eu-officials

 

"The European parliament has postponed setting a date for ratifying the trade and security deal with Britain after Boris Johnson was accused of breaking international law for a second time over N. Ireland. The chamber’s political groups agreed on Thursday to wait in light of the latest row with Downing Street, with some senior MEPs warning that the Christmas Eve deal will not be passed at all if the UK goes ahead with its plans. [...]  The trade and security deal with the UK is provisionally in force but it is yet to be formally ratified by the parliament. Its provisions would fall away if MEPs failed to give it their backing, leaving the UK with a no-deal outcome, including tariffs on goods". 

 

Hopefully just political manoeuvring on both sides and the dispute will be settled and the Brexit deal ratified.....

[UpTheLeagueFox]