Sunday 31 January 2021

THE GUARDIAN: Ease of trading is key measure of success, say cross-channel businesses, not lack of lorry traffic

It was billed as a deal that would secure tariff-free access to the EU, that “sunlit uplands” would follow initial disruption to trade.

But one month since the Brexit trade deal came into force, businesses are warning that the “teething problems” Boris Johnson described in a visit to Scotland last week are in fact symptomatic of endemic disruption that will force many businesses to restructure and will mean the end of some British businesses altogether.

“The last month has been like Dante’s fifth circle of hell” for importers and exporters unable to move supplies because of new red tape, said Ben Fletcher, the policy director of Make UK, which represents manufacturers across the UK.

One internationally renowned car manufacturer had “1,000 cars sitting in their car park partially built because they could not get the parts in time,” said Fletcher. “They said this has never happened ever before.” » | Lisa O’Carroll, Brexit correspondent | Sunday, January 31, 2021

Brexit is for fossils and fools! – Mark