The Road Haulage Association has written to Michael Gove, the cabinet minister responsible for Brexit arrangements, urging him to act quickly to ensure that goods can continue to move across borders in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Chief executive, Richard Burnett called on Gove to press government departments to:
– Produce clear guidance on how the whole end-to-end journey will operate
– Open and authorise new and substantial customs facilities for transit
– Introduce consolidated and simplified import safety & security declaration system
– Launch emergency and free online customs training for traders
– Make lorry holding facilities such as Operation Brock fit for purpose
– Abolish the 22 per cent tariff on new trucks
The RHA believes that Whitehall officials have underestimated the complexities of international road haulage.
“We need to focus on the immediate action required for our industry to be prepared….the priority is very simple – to maximise the number of freight vehicles that can cross the border quickly to ensure the supply chain everyone is reliant upon can continue,” said Burnett.
* The Freight Transport Association has called on the government to provide clarity on how goods will be moved across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic following Brexit at a meeting with Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith.
Seamus Leheny, the FTA’s policy manager for Northern Ireland, highlighted the fact that more than 13,500 vehicles cross the border every day.
“70 per cent of freight crossing the Northern Ireland border is classed as intermediate – ingredients, components and the like. As such it may require additional journeys to render finished products for sale, and it is vital that, at this late stage in the Brexit process, logistics businesses are provided with answers on how these vehicle movements are to be organised, the duties payable and collection methods to be used,” said Leheny.
* The British International Freight Association says the CBI “hit the nail on the head” when it warned that neither the UK nor the EU is ready for a no-deal Brexit on 31st October.
director General Robert Keen said: “As the trade body that speaks for the sector of the economy that is responsible for managing the supply chains that underpin the UK’s visible international trade, we’ve been vocal in our concerns that our members cannot prepare for a no-deal Brexit, given the on-going uncertainty over many issues that affect how they conduct that trade.”
