A summit in Brussels next month between the UK government and EU counterparts could be a springboard to substantial trade benefits and a return to an efficient logistics supply chain, according to Logistics UK.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham will meet António Costa, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in Brussels on 20 November for the second UK-EU summit.
The Prime Minister said he intended to push for deals to cut costs and red tape for British farmers and businesses, support industry and boost economic growth.
“A threadbare Brexit deal has damaged our economy,” he said.
“Britain can do so much better, so at this summit I want to take practical steps that pay off for the British public, cutting costs for our farmers, food producers and families.
“The deals we are working towards will make us safer, cut back on paperwork that bogs down business and ease pressure on supermarket prices.”
Ben Fletcher, Logistics UK CE, welcomed the announcement and said cross-border trading practices were still causing insurmountable delays for operators.
“If our country is serious about promoting growth, we need to make sure that the relationship with our closest trading partner is as strong and effective as possible,” Fletcher said.
“The inefficiency of our current post-Brexit relationship with the EU means that some arrangements which negatively impact the EU/UK supply chain which we still rely on.
“By prioritising a return to the safe, swift and efficient logistics supply chain we relied upon during the pre-Brexit years, and limiting costly delays that cause issues for importers and exporters on both sides of the channel, we can smooth many of the issues caused by the UK’s departure from the EU.
“The tangible benefit of this would be for logistics business not having containers and lorries sitting at ports for an unnecessary time.”
During a Parliamentary debate this week about rejoining the EU, Folkestone MP Tony Vaughan said economists all agreed that the country had been left in a “much worse economic position” following Brexit and that businesses in his constituency would agree:
“Alcaline, a major local employer, is an international haulage company that serves customers across Europe,” he explained.
“Nearly a quarter of its fleet is currently off the road, not because it lacks work, but because its British drivers can only spend 90 in every 180 days in the Schengen area due to post-Brexit rules and EU drivers are hard to find because they need a work visa and have to deal with all the friction at the UK border.
“This is a major local business that should be expanding but, because of Brexit rules, is struggling to survive.
“It is a travesty that haulage firms across the country are going bust because of these kinds of post-Brexit rules,” Vaughan added.
