Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a defeat yesterday in the British Parliament. A clear majority of 432 votes of Parliament voted against her proposal. May’s plan had the support of 202 MPs. One thing is now clear: uncertainty prevails.
Right after the results came in, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn submitted a motion of no-confidence. This will be debated and voted on today. If PM May survives the vote, she’ll have three days to put forward a new Brexit proposal. If the PM loses the confidence of Parliament, the government will collapse and new elections will follow. So far it’s been about the political aspect. Regarding Brexit, there are multiple scenarios: a new accord with the EU, a second referendum, and the media talks of a delayed Brexit. Officially, the UK leaves the EU on 29 March. That’s 72 days from today.
Response from the trade:
NFU
In response to the vote against the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement last night, NFU President Minette Batters said: “As a result of the vote in the House of Commons, the country now finds itself in a situation where a no-deal Brexit appears to be increasingly likely. I have been clear that such an exit would simply be catastrophic for Britain and its food and farming sector and the country’s ability to produce home-grown food.
“A no-deal Brexit has to be avoided at all costs. The NFU has been clear that reaching a Brexit deal is a priority and we will be assessing any deal against our six key principles agreed at an Extraordinary meeting of the NFU’s Council in December, which includes avoiding a no-deal and ensuring free and frictionless trade with our biggest trading partner.
“The NFU is at the forefront of our industry coming together to warn against a no-deal outcome and we remain committed to playing our part in representing British farmers and growers throughout this process, ensuring their voice is heard across Parliament.
“I urge the Government to take all the necessary steps to achieve a deal with the EU that delivers on these principles.”
Fountain Fresh
Jack Hanson from Fountain Fresh who imports a lot of produce from Europe, including salads and citrus said customers have been calling asking what the tariffs will be and just what will happen in the trade.
"People have been asking if we have contingency plans, I have heard that some big companies have hired people to make these plans, but it is difficult to plan for such an unknown, we have done as much as we can.
"The only scenario I can see happening is similar to what happens when you import from outside the EU, where you have a tax and clearance documents and declare the goods. This system works for goods from the Southern Hemisphere because you are bringing in full containers or full loads and it is quite straight forward, but European imports from Spain are very sporadic, lots of trucks, lots of different products and it's not as structured as containers, so just because that system works for containers doesn’t necessarily means it is going be easy for Spanish importers.
"I just hope that they will take a view on particular areas, one of which is fresh produce which needs to be given a president to get through, we can’t just have thousands of trucks waiting to get through because they can’t cross the border because the paperwork is not done."
LTO
Dutch company LTO has given its response in a press release and emphasizes the importance of trade. Dutch farmers and market gardeners are becoming more worried, according to the organisation. The UK is their third sales market, good for eight billion euro in agricultural and horticultural products. “It’s therefore crucial that trade continues unhindered after 29 March as well,” according to LTO. “LTO Netherlands stresses the importance of being properly prepared among its members, but also expects the Dutch government to offer practical solutions.”
Although the sector is preparing for Brexit and agreements are being made among companies to spread the pain across the supply chain, LTO stresses that the sector can’t do this on its own. “A hard Brexit isn’t a normal risk of being an entrepreneur.” LTO Netherlands calls on the government to do everything possible to minimise delays at the border should a no-deal Brexit come into effect.
“We have to prevent uncertainty from turning into chaos. Fresh products like tulips or tomatoes can’t be halted for a day at the border The agrarian sector is preparing for that, but the Cabinet should also be ready. If all costs are shifted to the individual farmers and market gardeners, businesses will collapse,” says Marc Calon, chairperson of LTO Netherlands.
To help companies faced with the major consequences of Brexit, LTO pleads for using the budget reserved by the government to prepare for Brexit. This concerns 651 million euro reserved for this goal by the Cabinet in its interim budget report for the 2018-2023 period.