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Brexit is everybody’s problem, says FTA chief
[ November 28, 2017 // Chris ]All EU member states, not just the UK, face a “massive challenge” from Brexit, Freight Transport Association deputy chief executive James Hookham told the European Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism on 22 November.
All member states ran the risk of long delays and disruption at ferry ports, he said.
He told the committee hat 300 million customs declarations, compared with just 90m currently, will be needed in the UK every year. Hookham declared: “The scale of this [trade] is truly enormous and it is important that all stakeholders comprehend what we are really talking about … Some 185,000 enterprises will be required to make customs declarations and other border checks after Brexit, for the first time in the UK.”
FTA says it is seeking urgent clarification from the EU on post-Brexit customs arrangements. Hookham said that immediate action is needed to develop a workable system to move goods across the new UK-EU border.
While procedures can be automated in the long run, that will not solve the immediate problem, argued Hookham. “In the meantime, we must make sure that vehicles can continue to cross the border. There is a need for not just the UK government, but for the other EU27 governments to step forward and to act.”