If the waiting times at Customs in Calais are extended by two minutes, there will be kilometers of tailback for the tunnel to the United Kingdom. With Brexit imminent, these waiting times could increase because the British are leaving the internal market and the customs-union. “Free movement of goods will therefore no longer be possible,” says Roel van ’t Veld. “From the moment Brexit becomes a fact, customs regulations for third countries will become effective, without exception.”
Roel started his presentation with this warning during the Brexit session, organised by Dutch newspaper Nieuwsblad Transport, last week Thursday. “It’s up to the companies to prepare themselves for Brexit,” the customs officer continues. He isn’t feeling very confident about the transitional period that has been announced. It’s still unclear how the deal with the British will look, in fact, it’s not even certain there will be a deal. In the partial agreement presented by the negotiators last month, many parts of the text were marked green, this is text the EU and the UK agree about. However, there were still many white parts, text no agreement has been reached about yet. Obstacles surrounding the Irish border, among other things, hadn’t been marked yet.
Roel van 't Veld.
Active customs processes
Roel mentions the British have as their starting point that a deal can only be made when everything has been agreed about. “We don’t know where we are in the process, but it’s certain the British leaving the EU will have consequences.” Dutch and British customs are working on preparations on both sides of the North Sea. In the Netherlands, a few hundred new customs officers are being trained, in the UK, this concerns thousands of new officials.
“Customs processes are becoming active again,” he continues. This also results in new processes, for example, a protocol has to be developed for the ferries. That ball is in the court of customs, but the consequences are very large for companies. The mass of paperwork necessary for export to a country outside of the EU will also become necessary for export to the UK. Although Dutch customs now works completely digitally, it will result in a lot of work.
Nine additional documents
Roel explains using the example of an exporter of ready-made meals. Export to the UK is simple right now. “This exporter will soon have to deal with nine additional documents and procedures.” Among other things, a phytosanitary/ veterinary certificate, trader at exit and the ECS procedure will have to be followed. “If you’re not prepared for this, you’ll have a big problem,” he says. Similar procedures will be implemented for import from the UK.
A second factor requiring attention are the import tariffs that will become effective. The so-called 0-tariff, for instance, is only applied to products that contain only British ingredients or parts. “That’s where the snag is, if just one ingredient isn’t British, this rule is not applied.” Customs expects to process 20 to 33 per cent more declarations after the British leave the Union. That would amount to millions of additional declarations per year.