the reality of Brexit is starting to take its toll

The devil is in the details of big business. Such is the drama of Brexit, the Christmas gift from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the EU to those who voted for him and its consequence of misunderstandings and secret clauses. This Monday, more than 20 Scottish trucks they transport crustaceans, lobsters, salmon and scallops from the kingdom to the European Union they were parked near Downing St, the home of the British government, with large signs indicating “The Brexit Massacre” O “An incompetent government destroying the seafood industry.”

Your project is throw away the rotten fish at the door of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s home. So far, they haven’t. With customs declarations, bureaucracy, authorizations, health checks, they can’t arrive with its fresh products to the European Union.

The same problems are encountered by supermarkets in Northern Ireland, which continues to belong to the single European market. The bureaucracy left its empty shelves.

If the pandemic had not reached these dramatic levels in Britain, this scandal would threaten the stability of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his false promises on Brexit.

In Paris, there is also the other side. Mark and Spencer, the famous British supermarket with its branches in France, is the closest thing to a cuban store during “the special period” after the fall of the Berlin Wall. On their shelves there is absolutely nothing. No sandwiches, no cookies, no whiskey, no cooked meals. They also cannot pass their trucks with their British goods, which the French adore. From British tea to flowers and snacks.

Rotten seafood

Trucks used to transport British shellfish were parked in the streets near Downing Street and Parliament Square, opposite the House of Commons, in protest against delays in entering the EU due to the news Brexit rules.

British seafood producers they could not export its products in Europe since the beginning of January. The Brexit deal requires catch certificates, health checks and customs declarations which mean huge delays for it. Many trucks lost their 40,000 pounds of freight, which was rotting while waiting in the harbor.

Their European customers are tired of waiting for them due to the delay in entering the EU. They reject their catch because they take too long to arrive, which costs producers tens of thousands of books by truck in some cases. Another problem is that restaurants and bars in France they are closed and no one knows when they will open.

Britain exports large quantities of scallops, oysters, lobsters, mussels, shrimp and crabs to the EU, which were previously imported directly to the mainland after being fished. A spokesperson for DR Collin and Son, who had several trucks at the protest, said the industry was “tied to administrative requirements, which would be quite simple to manage “, as companies have been preparing to leave the EU for some time.

“Urgent action is needed to allow procedures that somehow realign the restrictions we face on the export of live crustaceans to Europe,” said the spokesperson, who described the situation in which fishermen and their fishermen find themselves as “a disaster”. families.

Impossible bureaucracy

The fishermen consider that all the technology with which they have trained for months is old and does not allow them to come back with their exports from Great Britain to the EU. Gary Hodgson, director of Vebnturew Seafood, said an operator was needed 400 pages of documentation export to be able to complete a ferry to the EU last week.

They are looking for a more agile system and sufficient customs staff on both sides of the Franco-British border. The Scottish fishing company was completely paralyzed. Thousands of fishermen and workers are without losing money, wages, commissions, without being able to go fishing.

The seafood industry has already announced that can collapse in days. Boris Johnson said they would be compensated for what he called “temporary frustrations”.

They can’t export

Headaches are not just fishermen but the pUK small and medium enterprises, who have to bring their products to the EU or send them by courier. There they discovered the new costs, which they had never imagined. Increased bureaucracy, customs declarations, VAT are affected by commercial traffic.

Government ministers describe the post-Brexit headaches that UK exporters have suffered since January 1 as mere “initial problems”. But the reality is that will be final.

Since January 1, when the Brexit transition period ended, British small and medium-sized businesses have been affected by at least three new positions. Some companies discovered another surprise: that their customers in the EU they will have to pay upon receipt of the goods.

“From what I can see, currently companies like ours in the UK will no longer be able to make ‘final sales’ to EU customers. In particular, small orders under £ 100 will be totally impossible, ”said Paul, who exports fence material in the EU, a niche industry.

The new privileges The export costs include a ‘Brexit fee’, an export fee of £ 4.50 for each package sent to the EU, additional administrative fees and the filling out of forms to be carried out by couriers.

Second, there is a “deferred account charge” of £ 5 per package, which covers the cost of prepayment of import charges into the country of destination. The third is a ‘disbursement charge’, which is set at different levels in each EU country, with a minimum of around € 14 per package, which is calculated as a percentage of the value of the goods, depending on the value. the highest. plus VAT in the country of destination. This covers the costs of the host country’s tax administration, which inspects and processes packages.

Companies think the only way is create a branch in Europe to avoid these charges. But jobs will be lost in Britain.

Paris, correspondent

ap