Frictionless trade after Brexit?


As Brexit unravels its true face, EU and UK importers are losing hope on maintaining smooth trade between them.


The UK government have constantly insisted that trade after Brexit would be frictionless with the EU however the new requirements to import and export to and from the UK seem to mean the contrary.


From the 1st of January all imports to the UK must be preceded by a customs declaration otherwise the goods would be retained at the border. It is true that the UK have put in place several mechanisms to aid the national importers like the deferral of declarations until June 2021 or a grant for those companies that have to invest in the licenses and software to carry out the declarations however the truth is trade from the 1st of January 2020 will incur in more bureaucracy and hours of work invested.


UK businesses importing from the EU will have to invest in software, pay for the correct batch and dedicate resources to train employees so the declarations are done correctly. One could say that this provides a chance for businesses already offering this particular service to importers, nonetheless the EU growers will face a new obstacle when selling their goods to the UK.


Only two months away from the deadline, an agreement has not been reached and no business is certain on how trade would look like. However, everything seems to indicate that trade would not be made easier.