The UKWA has said the decision to leave the EU will have “serious global implications” that will bring “new challenges” to the British transport and warehousing industries.
Speaking after 52% of the UK population voted to leave the union, the association’s chief executive Peter Ward said that he hoped the industry wouldn’t be faced with a “return to red tape and complex customs regulations”.
Ward said: “Many of our members trade across Europe and have enjoyed the benefits of ‘logistics sans frontiers’ for 40 years, with goods entering and leaving our country freely. My hope now is that as new trade agreements are forged, there is no return to red tape and complex customs regulations that prove burdensome and costly.”
However, he said the result did have positive implications for the industry as well, and suggested it was an opportunity for the UK to build relationships with new trade partners.
“We have for some time been talking about the new opportunities for British business emerging with the big super-powers in different parts of the world; already we are focusing on the tremendous potential in China – we have a UK-China Trade Mission planned for October and currently we’re running webinars for members and non-members to encourage and support them in exploring this exciting marketplace,” Ward said.
He added: “As the Prime Minister said this morning, there is no going back. We must now hold our nerve and plan for the future, not take a small island introspective view, but instead look to claim our place on the global platform.”
