The Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI) has warned that if a trade agreement between the EU and UK is not forthcoming, there will be a “deep, sharp shock” to the movement of goods between Britain and Ireland.
Aidan Flynn, General Manager of FTAI, said that a no-deal Brexit would create “significant log jams in customs systems and delays at borders as the infrastructure, enforcement regime and the private sector will not be fully prepared”.
The FTAI is calling on the Irish government to help the haulage sector in the Republic to “prepare for the new trading reality post-EU Exit”.
Meanwhile Andrew Hood, Partner at European law firm Fieldfisher and former General Counsel to PM David Cameron, has today warned that UK businesses needed clarity on what their post-Brexit relationship with the EU.
“Until they have that clarity, all they can do is plan for what the effects of a ‘deal’ or ‘no deal’ might be to their business.
“Any organisation that is based in the UK or trades with the UK needs to understand what risks exist that could impact on how it currently operates, and prepare a plan to minimise those risks, remembering that from 1 January 2021, the UK’s trading relationships will change with countries across the world, not just the EU.”
On Friday, the government published a wider and updated Great Britain-EU Border Operating Model which outlines import and export procedures after the end of the transition period this year.
