Brexit Customs Transition Plans Urgently Needed, Trade Groups Say

A transitional period for customs after the United Kingdom formally leaves the EU "must be agreed as soon as possible," a group of trade associations from a wide range of industries said in an Oct. 18 news release. The groups -- including the World Shipping Council, The European Community Association of Ship Brokers and Agents, and the European Association for Forwarding, Transport, Logistics and Customs Services -- "strongly urge EU and UK negotiators to put legal certainty and predictability for business and trade at the top of their negotiating agenda." The UK proposed some customs arrangements over the summer that got some EU pushback (see 1708150042). An EU task force offered a position paper on the issue last month (see 1709150037).

The groups would like to see a "guarantee of a seamless transition period after March 2019, which replicates the current commercial, regulatory and trading environment," they said. "This guarantee should be provided urgently if it is to enable industry to plan and invest appropriately for what takes place in March 2019. The transition period should last until the commencement of a long term EU-UK partnership agreement, the details of which must be known sufficiently in advance for businesses to adapt and implement any changes."

Both sides should be careful to avoid severe disruptions to the current and future trade processes, the trade associations said. "It is clear there are significant questions that both sides need to discuss and resolve at the political level, but the group argues that both sides’ negotiators should not lose sight of the damage that will be inflicted if business and economic activities are not protected," the groups said. "Big bang or ‘cliff edge’ situations must be avoided. They would send costly shock waves through EU trade flows and supply chains that have evolved and flourished over the last forty years." For "customs, its associated systems and the EU Single Market" a "transitional, not a terminal journey" is necessary, the associations said. "There is no time to lose in making this happen."